Profile

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Veasna Sum-Coffey

Curriculum Vitae

  • Work History:

    First job was a store manager (in Boston, USA), then a student (in Ireland).

  • Current Job:

    Researcher for NUIGalway on a collaborative project with Stryker Instruments

  • Employer:

    Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, NUI Galway.

  • About Me: I love studying science as much as teaching it.

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    I am a mother of 4, studying in NUI Galway. I have 1 girl and 3 rowdy boys who love to wrestle each other. My favourite food is Chinese food and love to go to the cinema with my husband (whenever we can). I am an avid supporter of science communication, and I do a lot of volunteer work with Cell EXPLORER, teaching primary school children about cellular and molecular biology.

  • My Work: I am a PhD student, who is researching bone regeneration, and I am using this research to help improve bone healing.

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    I work in NUI Galway in the Engineering building. My research is based on developing a biomaterial that could be used to help bones heal faster after orthopaedic surgery. I also take modules that are relevant to my research. Along with the modules, I carry out experiments that are related to my research, which is funded under CURAM (medical devices) and Science Foundation Ireland.

  • My Typical Day: I usually start my day early, as early as 7AM, so I can get home in time to make dinner and bring my kids to their extracurricular activities.

  • What I'd do with the money: I would use the prize money to develop an activity with Cell EXPLORER, and this activity will help secondary school students prepare for their leaving cert.

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    As a Cell EXPLORER volunteer, I have always wanted to develop an activity for secondary school students to help them learn and understand science. This activity would also allow them to learn some of the techniques we use in the lab. My work is focused on bone regeneration, so it would be really nice to develop an activity that would help students understand tissue regeneration.

  • My Interview

    • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

      friendly, hard worker

      What's the best thing you've done in your career?

      Grow skin cells

      What or who inspired you to follow your career?

      My mom, who makes prototypes for a medical device company

      What did you want to be after you left school?

      A scientist looking for life on other planets

      Were you ever in trouble at school?

      Yes.

      If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

      An astrophysicist

      Who is your favourite singer or band?

      Celine Dion

      What's your favourite food?

      Chinese

      If you had 3 wishes for yourself what would they be? - be honest!

      For my family to be healthy; for me to get good grades on all my exams; and for the experiments in my project to work out

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