• Question: 1.You are currently a PhD student, what kind of jobs does this open up for a systems biologist? 2.How often do you find interesting differences in groups of people’s DNA? 3.How can people in a coma hear? What goes on in their brain?

    Asked by to Lilly on 19 Mar 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Lilian Hunt

      Lilian Hunt answered on 19 Mar 2014:

      1. As a PhD student I’m really training in the hope of becoming a postdoc science researcher. Being a researcher is a career as you start in someone’s lab and can eventually be in charge of your own lab 🙂 Because I work in systems biology, this is my specialism so after I’ve finished my PhD (and get to be called Dr Lilly!) I will look at completing more research within the same subject. The PhD can open up all sorts of other careers as people respect a PhD in science in all sorts of businesses too!

      2. I find interesting differences in groups of people’s DNA quite regularly. The hard part is working our how significant they are and if they actually cause any changes! There can be loads of differences to sift through so trying to work out ways of prioritising them is a key part of my job 🙂

      3. A coma is a state of unconsciousness where a person is unresponsive and cannot be woken. Someone who is in a coma has minimal brain activity. They’re alive, but can’t move or be woken. A person in a coma will often be unresponsive to their environment. They may not be able to hear voices or feel pain. However, they may have some awareness of their surroundings. Every coma experience is unique. I don’t really know what happens in the brain but I guess it’s how some parts will be active and others won’t. It might be worth looking online or in a textbook? 🙂

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