Hello! My name is Lucy, and I’m a budding researcher with the QUADRAT DTP. Whilst I loved nature as a child, I found school restrictive and, honestly, a bit boring. My younger self would be shocked to know I’d end up as a scientist—but now, knowing how creative and innovative science can be, I’m not surprised at all.
My initial career was in hospitality management, which was rewarding in its own way, but over time, I became more aware of the impact of climate change on our world. Wanting to contribute more directly, I began working in veterinary practices and wildlife rehabilitation facilities, merging my lifelong love of animals with a new purpose. I eventually took the leap back into academics, studying animal care, which sparked my love for learning and research. Through a widening access programme, I articulated into second year of my BSc in Zoology, where I became increasingly fascinated by molluscs—their diversity in physiology, development, behaviour, and habitats opened a whole new world for me.
It felt like fate when I discovered the Sleight Lab at the University of Aberdeen, which focuses on the evolution and development of shells in molluscs. After completing both a summer placement and my honours project with them, which focused on a neuroendocrine novel enzyme and endocrine disruption exposure during early embryonic development, I knew I had found my academic niche.
Now, my research uses the marine snail Crepidula fornicata as a sentinel bioindicator species to investigate how the neuroendocrine system in molluscs can become disrupted by human pharmaceuticals, which act as endocrine disruptors (EDs). I was initially drawn to this research because of its interdisciplinary potential, which has both fundamental and applied aspects: it maps the neuronal and endocrine connections to enhance our base understanding of molluscs and tests how exposure to EDs affects their development, providing critical insight into specific stages. My methods will include transcriptomic data analysis, various microscopy techniques, and biological assays on behaviour, morphology, and gene expression.
By studying these effects, I aim to deepen our understanding of mollusc neuroendocrine systems, as well as explore the consequences of EDs at varying concentrations. This work will importantly inform us about the ramifications of exposure, species threshold limits, and possible population outcomes, which would influence ecosystem health.
