Ana-Mishel Spiroski

"My personality type fits! I focused on music, art and writing in secondary school and didn't take up science until University. I prefer to work on challenging and high risk projects that require thinking out-of-the-box and heaps of problem solving. I've lived and worked all around the world, and have developed a unique approach to both research and teaching."

"I work in Experimental and Regenerative Medicine, which includes working in a wet lab (cell and molecular biology), dry lab (bioinformatics), with animal models of human disease, and with human subjects. So, quite diverse and exciting, and requires constant adaptation to different research settings."

"I graduated from secondary school in Alaska, took a few years off to ski, and started Uni at a Community College in Montana state. After completing my Associate's degrees I transferred to a liberal arts University to complete my BSc and MSc in Human Physiology.After my first year in my first PhD programme (in New Zealand), it was apparent that there was no funding in the department for my work. But my second go worked out and I graduated with my PhD from New Zealand. I moved to Cambridge Uni for my first Postdoctoral research position, and from there moved to my Research Fellowship in Edinburgh.The jobs I have had helped me disconnect from science in the summers while in school, but then began to focus on my areas of research interest. These included: Pastry Chef, Wrangler, Horse Trainer, Chemistry Laboratory Technician, Physical Therapy Assistant, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, Physiology Laboratory Manager, Teaching Assistant, Field Researcher, Tissue Pathologist, Research Assistant, Research Faculty, Biopharmaceutical R&D Associate, Horse Trainer (again), Lecturer, Supervisor, Tutor, and Pre-Clinical Experimental Medical Procedure Consultant. Most of these were done during school, as in the USA education system students from low-income backgrounds work while attending university to reduce the student loan burden throughout."

"Horse training! Cycling, Olympic lifting, hiking, camping, fishing, traveling, and volunteering."

"My work is quite diverse, and varies depending on what aspect of my research I need to focus on. It includes running the lab, teaching techniques to colleagues, writing research papers, writing grant applications, and my own work."

"BSc, Human PhysiologyMSc, Human PhysiologyPhD, Biomedical ScienceCSCS: Certified Strength and Conditioning SpecialistFHEA: University teaching certification"