Member Profiles

Our latest profiles explore the working lives of Meg Bilson and her home lab; Dr Eunice Ngai and her career in molecular medicine; and Dr Rob Eley, one of the founding members of the RSB’s Australasian branch.

23rd February 2024

A DAY IN THE LIFE

Meg Bilson AMRSB is the founder and managing director of Darwin Biological, a small, specialist, family-run biological supplies company that stocks schools, colleges, and universities with Drosophila, algae, bacteria cultures and preserved specimens.

My alarm goes off...

At 7am – if my one-year-old hasn’t already woken me up! I’m fortunate that I don’t have to commute as we have set up a laboratory and office at our old farmhouse.

My work involves…

A range of things. Given Darwin Biological is a small company, I am involved in all aspects, from accounting, sales and customer service to laboratory work for our Drosophila, algae and bacteria cultures. All are cultured at the bespoke facilities in our home in Shropshire. I have a small team of four, with occasional assistance from my father, who has dealt with Drosophila since the 1970s. It is from his cousin, the geneticist E B Ford FRS, that my company got its name, in recognition of him receiving a Darwin Medal. Biology runs in my blood!

On a typical day….

I get ready and I drop off my son at nursery. After dealing with a range of orders, you might find me subculturing some Bacillus subtilis in the laboratory before the delivery bell rings with an arrival from one of our abattoir suppliers and the team needs to jump to action to process and preserve over a thousand sheep eyes…

After some lunch from the local bakery, my mum will arrive having picked up my little boy from nursery and then she’ll look after him while I continue to work with the team to pack up the day’s orders before our delivery collection comes later in the afternoon.

I work with…

A range of specialists to ensure we provide schools and universities with the highest standard of specimens and products. While we do most things in house, such as our Drosophila breeding and segregation, we have also developed partnerships with the likes of the Culture Collection of Algae and Protozoa, with the specific aim of increasing the quality and range of organisms and specimens available for students in UK schools. Our bacterial cultures are all produced by myself and my team, derived from strains held by the National Collection of Type Cultures, which we do under licence.

After work…

I’ll typically close up the Darwin Biological office and laboratory, and check on our hens and ducks with my little boy before a much-needed cup of tea.

THE CAREER LADDER

Dr Eunice Ngai MRSB on her lifetime of learning, from molecular medicine to music

I first discovered biology…

During secondary school, when I began to study biology. I was fascinated by the mysteries of the human body’s physiology. I wanted to become a doctor so that I could help patients to recover from illnesses and live healthy lives.

I studied… 

My first bachelor’s degree at Universiti Putra Malaysia, then pursued a doctorate degree in molecular medicine. My research was on gene therapy for the blood disorder beta-thalassemia, with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for patients. I am now an associate professor at the School of Biosciences at the University of Nottingham’s Malaysia campus.

I always knew…

That learning is a lifetime process. That is the main reason that I became a lecturer and a researcher at university. My work revolves around researching treatments for cancers using a molecular medicine approach, with the hope of enhancing the patients’ clinical outcomes as well as their quality of life.

The best thing about my job is…

That I gain new understanding and share it with the younger generation, educating them to be independent learners; I supervise postgraduate research students in scientific research, fostering a new generation of scientists; and I discover knowledge via research and share it via scientific communication and journal publication. In a nutshell, I love my job as an educator because I get to learn and share.

A key piece of advice would be…

To identify your goals, stay focused and persevere. Work hard and smart to achieve your goals in life.

Something not many colleagues will know about me is…

I play the piano. I only had the opportunity to start learning it while I was at university, but completed Grade 8 of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music while also being a PhD student, a lecturer and a mother. I think the key to this success was persistency and perseverance. Despite my packed schedule as a busy working mother of three young children, I found gentleness and elegance within me while playing the piano.

In the future I hope to…

Find treatments for cancers, leading to cures with improved clinical outcomes so that patients can live long, healthy lives.

MY SOCIETY AND ME

Dr Rob Eley FRSB is academic research manager at the Emergency Department at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane, Australia, and the Southside Clinical Unit at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Queensland. See his talk on hyraxes at youtube.com/royalsocbio