Career profile: senior technical specialist (histology)
In this career profile, Yvette describes her role as a Senior Technical Specialist working with a variety of tissue samples. This is one of a series of career profiles exploring lots of different jobs in genomics.
About me:
Name: Yvette
Job title: Senior Technical Specialist (Histology)
What do I do: I work in Histology, which is the study of tissues and cells under a microscope. In my group, we provide a histology service to the teams in the Cancer Aging and Somatic Mutations (CASM) programme. This can include using our Laser Capture Dissection (LCM) to cut off microscopic sections of tissue, for a closer look. I also chair the CASM Health and Safety (H&S) group.
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Skills I use in my job:
Communication
Meeting with scientists and students to discuss their projects. I also need to communicate with suppliers, engineers and other Sanger team.
Teamwork
Teamwork is key, and crucial to success. I need my team to do essential tasks before and after I can carry out my job. We work as a unit towards a common goal.
Concentration
Very important when using sharp blades and expensive glass slides. Mistakes can be expensive and cause injury. Priceless samples can also be lost if mistakes are made, so concentration is essential.
Organisation
You need good organisation skills to manage a busy schedule, including; lab work, H&S and managing support staff.