Objects

wimbledon queue card

This is a Queue Card from 2015 from my first trip with my first Godson and nephew Aaron Byrnes. Shortly after returning I was diagnosed with cancer. The goal was to return when recovered. We eventually returned in 2018 following a lucky lottery selection through the Wimbledon draw.

magnifying glass and stone

All my personal and research items are small but under the magnifying glass
(microscope in the case of my research) we can discover amazing detail! For my
research the ability to visually increase the size of the structures I am studying
is absolutely essential.

bioreactor & dissection kit

I “inherited” this dissection kit when I joined Finian Martin’s lab almost 20 years ago. It used to belong to Eileen Furlong, who is now a hugely successful scientist and Head of the Genome Biology Unit at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory. I also seem to have inherited her love of cell fate

cork and biopsy needle 

This is the cork from the champagne that was opened when I got my PhD viva. My mentor stuck the silver coin in it, for luck I think…. In hindsight I have been lucky, in that I have enjoyed most opportunities during my career.