Fiona Robertson
Published: 13 May 2021
I started my position in Glasgow in July 2020 during the height of lockdown and have still not set foot on campus. When I do find my way back to the office, however, it will be a homecoming for me. Glasgow is home.
I started my position in Glasgow in July 2020 during the height of lockdown and have still not set foot on campus. When I do find my way back to the office, however, it will be a homecoming for me. Glasgow is home. I was born and raised in the city, and the
University has played a large part in my life. My Father, Sister and I, all attended Glasgow University for at least our undergraduates. My father is a recently retired Research Fellow, and my sister has also recently returned to the department after a secondment to the Lighthouse lab. I also met my husband during my undergraduate days at Glasgow and we got married at the nearby Cottier’s Theatre almost 5 years ago.
I graduated with Undergraduate BSC (hons) Plant Science in 2010. I had a brief interval working as the Welfare Rights Admin for Alzheimer’s Scotland, which allowed me time to study for the Graduate Record Exam and apply for my visa to continue my studies in the United States. In 2011 I started my MSc Botany at Miami (of Ohio) University in the lab of Dr. Richard C. Moore. Unlike in the UK an MSc in the USA is an intense 2-year research program, which also required me to teach for 20 hours a week to receive my stipend. My MSc thesis focused on the evolution of the sex chromosomes of Carica Papaya, where I redefined the known boundaries of the pseudo-X Chromosome. This is also where I first started to dabble in Bioinformatics. My project involved utilising next-gen sequencing technologies that were not previously used within the department, so I had to learn the appropriate analysis skills. This inspired a bit of a change in research interest for me.
The hardest part of the decision to move to the USA for my career was that I had to leave friends and family behind, which included maintaining a long-distance relationship with my now husband. Only getting to see family once or twice a year meant we became highly skilled at video calling long before it became a part of daily life. However, living in small town Ohio was an amazing and interesting experience. Miami University owned a large amount of woodland and public hiking trails that we were encouraged to use. I spent a lot of my free time exploring various national parks within our local tri-state area, camping, making some lifelong friends during the process.
I returned to Scotland in 2013, where I undertook my PhD at the University of Aberdeen in the lab of Prof. Daniel MacQueen. This is where my career diverged away from Plant Science and into the world of Bioinformatics. My PhD Thesis focused on reconstructing evolution after whole genome duplication using the Salmonid Fishes as a model. At the time the Atlantic Salmon Genome was not yet available, so most of my research revolved around applying various computational techniques for exploring sequencing data to identify distinctive patterns left by subsequent evolution after a whole genome duplication event. I really enjoyed learning to code and it prompted me to mainly leave wet lab work behind and dive into bioinformatics.
Again, during this time I was still balancing my long-distance relationship. Though the distance is not as far between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, we would often find ourselves taking turns traveling between the two cities during the weekend. We were engaged by the end of 2014 and in mid-2016, due to the highly computational based nature of my research, I moved from Aberdeen to Edinburgh permanently. We got married in November 2016 and I continued to work on my PhD remotely till I defended in October 2017.
I then started my first Post-doctoral position as the Bioinformatician for the Wellcome Trust Mitochondrial Research Centre at Newcastle University. Working with multiple research groups within the Centre allowed me to work on a vast array of projects. During my PhD I was diagnosed with a rare immune deficiency that causes an allergic reaction type response/anaphylaxis, triggered by high stress, hormone levels, exacerbated by exercise and certain food stuffs. This changed how I balance my work and home life. I know the limits my body can take when stressed and when I need to walk away to decrease the likelihood of an episode. However, my medication can cause me to have lapses in concentration, extreme drowsiness. I found myself feeling guilty if I had to take my medication as it would affect the efficiency of my work and hold up others research. Despite loving the diversity of the research, I found that the high demand on my time combined and the long commute time (2 hours door to door Edinburgh to Newcastle), and the management of my condition impacted my home life and decided to make a move to focus more on my personal research interests.
I started in the Sanz lab in July 2020 and while I cannot judge the office situation, my time working at Glasgow has greatly improved the balance. I can easily integrate my personal research interests, with offering bioinformatic support to the rest of the team. I have always been interested in exploring the genome and the data we can extract from current sequencing methodologies. This has developed into an interest in functions of non-coding elements, which integrates nicely with the Sanz labs exploration of Aging within the Drosophila model. The return to the office will mean more time with extended family who are all resident in Glasgow, as well as many friends from my Undergrad and those that work within the University. While Edinburgh is an amazing city for live theatre and comedy which are a great passion of mine, Glasgow City is a hub for amazing music and I am very much looking forward to attending the odd gig or two after work once we are able too.
When I am not working, I am reading. I devour Science Fiction and Fantasy novels quite readily and I love reviewing them. In early 2018 I started a book blog, mainly to keep me occupied on my commute, but it has blossomed. I am now part of a large online book blogging community and maintain separate social media profiles for the purpose. I’m lucky enough for my reviews to be regarded enough that I receive advanced copies of the latest novels from publishers so I can review them before their release. The combination of science and bookish ramblings has also opened opportunities for me to communicate directly with authors. Over the past two years I have been acting as a scientific advisor for a Sunday Times Best Selling Fantasy author. I have been offering advice so he can construct a scientifically accurate yet fantastical world for his latest series, the first of which is out in September and I am very much looking forward to seeing what parts of our discussions made the cut. I do have a little bit of authorial intent in me also. I love taking part in National Novel Writing Month, where in November of each year a global group of writers attempt to make headway on there novels by writing 50,000 words toward their book. I ‘won’ in 2020 writing 56,000 towards a fantasy heist novel, I am hoping to revise and improve what I wrote in this November. In January this year, I taught myself to crochet and have since been bombarding friends and loved ones with little yarn creations known as amigurumi (compounded Japanese meaning knitted wrapping, little knitted dolls or animals).
I am known for my varying array of hair colours, usually shades of blue, pink or purple so can usually be picked out in the crowd. Once I do return to campus, please do say hello, or ask for my latest book recommendations. Just don’t ask me for my favourite book unless you have a few hours free!
First published: 13 May 2021