Dr Katharine Herbert

My route to teaching at York St John has followed an interesting course, meandering between roles as scientist and academic. As a newly graduated postdoctoral scientist, I moved from Australia to join a research group at the University of Oxford. Alongside colleagues from the UK and abroad, I gained invaluable experience training students in science techniques and research skills whilst investigating ways to improve the sensitivity of radiation therapy in cancer treatment. From Oxford I moved to Glasgow where I managed a diverse group of International MSc Students through their coursework alongside running a preclinical study investigating newly developed products from AstraZeneca for treating Pancreatic Cancer patients.

A relocation to York has provided extensive opportunities to engage with researchers throughout the North of Yorkshire – from which I have developed a Biobank of patient-representative models of Pancreatic Cancer with colleagues from the University of Leeds and St James’ Hospital, and have been able to take on supervisory roles with postgraduate research students. Carrying on from this, the current stage in my professional evolution has been to take on the responsibility of training the Biomedical Scientists of the future with York St John as an academic.