Petra Oyston

What is your job?

Microbiologist

Why did you choose a STEM career?

Microbiology touches every aspect of life. It is very exciting to explore the workings of the microscopic universe. The work is very varied and requires a range of skills, not just in the laboratory: communicating your results is very important, so good written and oral presentation skills are also important. It is very exciting to be the first person ever to know something, based on an experiment you designed and conducted, and great fun sharing that with other interested people.

How did you get there?

I took science A levels at school, then a microbiology degree at Manchester University. At this point I established that I really wanted a career at the laboratory bench, so I followed my degree with a PhD. For my PhD I studied a bacterium that lives in your gut, but is killed by oxygen (called anaerobes), which meant it had to be grown in a special cabinet filled with other gases. The trouble with anaerobes is that they smell terrible, and on the bus on the way home I'm sure that was why I often had an empty seat next to me! After my PhD I took a post-doctoral position at the University of Florida studying how oral bacteria stick to teeth. This involves proteins in saliva, so for this project I had to convince people to spit into pots every day for a supply of fresh saliva! I regard this as the final part of my training, although even to this day as an established scientist I get to learn new things all the time.

Why did you become an Ambassador?

I find microbiology so exciting, and I love to share facts about the wonderful world of microbes. If I inspire a single person to be as enthusiastic about science as I feel, and to follow that career, I will be happy.

How can you support local schools?

I have gone predominantly into one primary and one secondary school in the local area. I like to link with what the children are doing in their curriculum....for example I talked about the organism that causes plague when the Year 8s had done the Black Death in history. I think this maximises the impact and relevance for the class. That obviously involves establishing a longer term in-depth relationship with the schools, and is a different approach to dropping a pre-prepared workshop into a Science Day, for example.