Post-doc
Jack joined the lab in 2020
Lab Members
Post-doc
Nathan joined the lab in 2020
PhD student
Andrei joined the lab in 2019
PhD student
Aiwei joined the lab in 2019
What do you do in the O’Neill lab?
I’ve just joined the lab so I’m spending a lot of time reading about circadian rhythms…
What is your favourite thing about being in the O’Neill Lab?
How welcoming everyone has been
Do you have a favourite piece of scientific trivia?
How the gene encoding the apocrine sweat gland is linked to earwax texture
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Dumplings
If you had super-power, what would it be?
The ability to clone myself and make all of my clones do all my work for me!
Post-doc
Nina joined the lab in 2018
What do you do in the O’Neill lab?
I’m trying to figure out how brain cells keep time in the face of dramatic temperature changes that happen in our brains on a daily basis… and every time our neurons fire.
What is your favourite thing about being in the O’Neill Lab?
Everyone helps each other and the diversity of chronotypes within our small group makes round-the-clock experiments much easier!
Do you have a favourite piece of scientific trivia?
The brains of hibernating ground squirrels reach near-freezing temperatures and their brains cells temporarily disconnect from each other – like a TV in standby mode.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Cheese – am I allowed to add chutney? If not, then it would be the infamous Aberdeen Rowie or ‘Buttery’, lightly toasted then drenched in butter and raspberry ham – oh hang on, that’s more than one food… I think Andrew cheated…
If you had super-power, what would it be?
Time travel – so I could see which came first, the chicken or the egg, and so I could find the first cellular clock that ever existed and tell it to slow down.
Post-doc
Andrew joined the lab in 2018
What do you do in the O’Neill lab?
I’m looking at the detail of clock mechanism. I come from a background of model organisms that shouldn’t have circadian rhythms but do, and so I’m looking for alternative mechanisms that allow timekeeping. As an aside, I’m exploring various tools to make new reporters of clock function which will help us get a better overall picture of what is going on inside a cell over a long time period.
What is your favourite thing about being in the O’Neill Lab?
It’s a fun environment where we work on big questions. No idea is too stupid and John encourages you to think big. It makes you get out of bed in the morning.
Do you have a favourite piece of scientific trivia?
I like the chance events in science. Like how Fleming discovered Penicillin by accident because he left a culture plate too long. I’ve left many a culture plate too long and am waiting for this kind of accidental breakthrough.
If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Lasagne. Specifically the family recipes but I’d take any lasagne.
If you had super-power, what would it be?
Flight or teleportation. I like travelling but some journeys e.g. commuting are too slow!