An Interview with Ashley Otter

Current Job:  PhD Student in Molecular Microbiology

Scientific Discipline/Field: Microbiology, specifically the genomics of M. tuberculosis

Country: UK

Pick some letters (L,G,B,T,Q etc.): G

Twitter: www.twitter.com/asherichia

What does your job involve? 

Currently, I’m pursuing a PhD in molecular microbiology at the Royal Veterinary College in London. My work focuses on a group of transcriptional regulators in Mycobacterium tuberculosis, so I get to do lots of different molecular techniques such as PCR, qPCR, flow cytometry, fluorescent reporters, RNA-Seq and much more!

How did you get to this job (education etc.)? 

I did my Bachelor of Science in Microbiology at Cardiff University, whilst also taking a year out to do professional training year at an academic research lab. I then graduated and was able to obtain a PhD position here at Royal Veterinary College in London and love it!

Do you feel being LGBT has affected your career decisions? 

Not at all 🙂

Have you had any reactions from colleagues about being LGBT, either good or bad?

Everyone I have told has been very supportive and welcoming.

Did you have any role models growing up (LGBT, STEM, totally unrelated…)?

My biology teacher at A-level. She was the one that inspired me to become a scientist. Before, I would rarely pay attention in class, mess around and generally just not do any work. Having her has my teacher helped me to see how awesome science is and she was always there to help me out, give advice and guide me through any difficulties.

Still to this day I am unbelievably thankful for having her as a teacher!

What are your plans for the future?

I want to stay in science, either academia or governmental.

 

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