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Rebecca Dixon

Healthcare Laboratory Technician

Rebecca’s job title is Technician Scientist at Achilles Therapeutics

What I do

Achilles Therapeutics specialises in personalised cancer treatments. It is an up-and-coming field of medicine where we make treatments specifically tailored to a person who has cancer, designed to attack only the cancer cells and not harm the patient’s normal cells.

I am currently in the Lab Management team; we look after all of the labs. For instance, we help with waste removal, managing stock, equipment maintenance, and health & safety – we are the first people that people call on.

Gloved hand pulling a pipette out of a glass bottle

How I became a technician

A typical day in my working life

I work from 9 until 5.30 every day. I check emails and Teams when I get in. I have to manually monitor the temperature for some equipment, so I do that first and check that nothing is out of range. I then start the rest of my tasks for the day. It may be stock-taking, helping with equipment cleaning or an engineer visit, or even  looking after documentation. There is a wide range of tasks involved in this job! I also check deliveries, sign them in, and make sure everything is accounted for.

A little more about
my everyday role

What I love most about my job

I really like the people I work with. I am doing a bit more of the science now and going into the lab and learning what they are actually doing and how it relates back to the patients.

The advice I would give to a young person

I would say don’t feel pressured to go to university just because your school thinks that’s what you should do. There are so many other pathways. Apprenticeships are great. You are paid to work and earn a degree if you decide to go for a Level 6 apprenticeship. You learn so many soft skills; like how to communicate with people, time management - all those life skills which are useful.

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