Dawn Lok
Read Dawn's profile to discover how studying at Newcastle has helped her career
Course: BSc Biomedical Sciences, MRes Cancer
Current Role: Research Scientist, Oncology R&D, Astra Zeneca, Pharmaceutical Industry
Home Country: Singapore
I completed my a BSc in Biomedical Sciences and went onto pursue an MRes in Cancer. Growing up, I was always curious about how the human body works and why diseases develop. This sparked my interest in scientific research and led me to choose Newcastle because of its strong reputation in biomedical and cancer research.
During my undergraduate degree, I studied a variety of modules that gave me a broad understanding of human biology and disease mechanisms. I also undertook a three-month final year project studying the Protein-Protein Interactions of DNA Topoisomerase IIb, which culminated in a review published by the Biochemical Society Transactions. The combination of lectures and practical lab sessions helped me build both my theoretical knowledge and hands-on skills
During my MRes, I was fortunate to take ownership of a six-month research project in the Biosciences Institute under Professor Austin and Dr Cowell. This experience was one of the highlights of my time at Newcastle. In this project, I independently generated, expressed, purified and characterised in vitro 5 mutations of DNA Topoisomerase IIb conferring resistance to anti-tumour agents. It challenged me to develop critical scientific thinking as I encountered and overcame experimental setbacks. This hands-on research project solidified my passion for cancer biology and prepared me for the next steps in my career.
Right after graduation, I started out as a Research Technician in the Oncology R&D team in AstraZeneca Cambridge doing high-throughput cell culture day-to-day. I was able to step into the role because of my prior high-throughput yeast culture experience in my MRes Cancer project. Right now, I am now 1.5 years in working as a Research Scientist in the same team where I support both laboratory work and pre-clinical drug development.
What I enjoy most about my current role is the problem-solving aspect in projects - I have the opportunity to take complex biological questions and design studies to solve them. This job gives me a sense of purpose in contributing to something bigger, like improving our understanding of disease and contributing to drug development.
Looking back, my time at Newcastle helped me build the skills and confidence I needed for a career in science. It gave me a strong foundation in research and taught me how to think like a scientist. I’m thankful for the opportunities I had, and I’m excited to keep learning and contributing to meaningful work in oncology.