About Me
My name is Leonard. I am doing an MRes in Biological and Physical Chemistry and I am hoping to do a PhD. I did my undergraduate at Kings College and I am the first person in my family to attend university.
Leonard is part of the Imperial Inclusive Personae project, these are not real students but are designed to represent the diverse nature of the Imperial community.
My Role Models
Personal Role Model - Mr Lodge
Thinking about a personal role-model was quite hard for me. There have been many people in my life that have helped and encouraged me, particularly my family. I have also been very luck that the people I work with at Waterstones have always been supportive of my studying and made sure I have had time off when I need it. However there was one teacher at my school who came from a similar background as me and without him I am not sure I would have considered that university was an option for me. Mr Lodge was my Biology teacher and he encourage me to apply to Kings and made sure I got the support I needed to fill in the application. Not only that, but knowing that he went to university showed me that I could to. I am going to do a PhD at the University of Aberdeen and I hope to get involved in some outreach projects and encourage young people to reach their potential.
Academic Role Model - Henrietta Lacks
I came across HeLa cells during my undergraduate degree but didn't know very much about them. After some research I read the story of Henrietta Lacks and how the HeLa cell was discovered. It is hard to call her a role-model in the traditional sense as I do not aspire to be like her but her story had a significant impact on me. The idea behind this project is to tell stories that are not heard often enough and Henrietta Lacks' story definitely fits that profile.
She was a poor, Black woman, who was never given any kind of remuneration for what the system took from her. In my future as a scientist, I want to make sure research is ethical and that we tell the stories of everyone that has an impact. Whether they are patients, students, teachers, or scientists.
Learn More
If you want to learn more about my role models here are some recommendations
- Find out more about the HeLa cell line
- Read "Henrietta Lacks: science must right a historical wrong" a nature article looking at what has changed, or still needs to change 100 years on.
- Read "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" the story of her life and the effect the HeLa cell line had on her family.