On first meeting, Mark doesn’t strike you as a typical scientist. His passion for sport, rugby union in particular, was very much part of his formative years and it’s moulded him. Mark suffered a catastrophic foot injury that put paid to his rugby playing days however he still enjoys the sport albeit from a more sedate position; he’s now a season ticket holder at Leicester Tigers. Mark also enjoys cricket and plays for his local village team, Newbold Verdon.
His enjoyment of sport ran alongside his aptitude for science, biology and mathematics, the subjects he opted for when attending Bergvliet High School at Cape Town. Mark spent the first 19 years of his life in South Africa before relocating to the UK with his family.
Mark put off attending University until his visa issues were sorted out during which time he became a Gym Instructor at Bosworth Hall Hotel in Market Harborough. Although he enjoyed the job, he knew it wasn’t the career for him.
With his paperwork in place, Mark enrolled on a three year degree course in Medical Physiology at the University of Leicester. He followed his degree with a PhD in Molecular Pharmacology.
He spent the following six years undertaking two 3 year postdoctoral pharmacology positions at the University of Leicester. The first, in novel assay, detecting protein release to monitor life cell release from specific immune cells; the second was a direct follow-on, assessing the interaction of the immune and cardio vascular systems in relation to sepsis.
Responsibilities also included training junior researchers, ensuring regulatory oversight, quality control, and project management.
In the summer of this year, Mark joined the Cellomatics Biosciences team in Nottingham as a BioAssay Scientist. Mark comments:
“I enjoy working behind the scenes, discovering how things work, how they relate to diseases.” He adds “Working at Cellomatics, no two days are the same. I really enjoy the variety and the team spirit. I’m currently working on the development of several assays for the company and clients.”
Although early days, Mark believes Cellomatics is a great fit for him and is relishing the idea of becoming more involved in the development of novel assays. Mark also believes he may be able to deliver aspects of pharmacology to the company that could enhance Cellomatics’ products and services.
Highlights to date include obtaining his PhD, becoming a Godfather and an uncle… oh, and making the cricket county cup final in cricket with Newbold Verdon of course!
To find out more about current vacancies at Cellomatics, visit our careers page.
