Nostagia rules...

This week I've been mainly catching up on writing notes from my meetings with Heads of Departments. I started meeting them last summer, but one Faculty, Medicine, Dentistry and Health, was undergoing a restructure, so I decided to with until later to meet them. I've almost completed the meetings, and they've all been very interesting, and extremely positive. A theme coming out of all of them is data - lots of it is being produced. And it all needs storing securely, managing and often publishing.

I've had a great time reminiscing as well. My visit to the head of Neuroscience involved a trip to SITRAN, which is built on the site of the old Genetics department, where I did my degree, PhD and postdoc. Genetics was housed in a prefabricated building (or shed...), but I loved it. There were 11 of us in my year.  That's right, 11. Talk about a close community. Here I am, walking at the side of the building  - duffle coat, double denim, and what looks like a bottle of wine in my hand.  After Genetics merged with Microbiology, Biochemistry and Biotechnology to make the new department of MBB in the 80s and moved to the central campus, some local youths set fire to the building, and it was no more.  But, as I moved through the corridors of SITRAN (which has some amazing facilities), I could still place my lab and workbench. And the spot where I wrecked a £120k ultracentrifuge only a few days after it had been delivered. But that's another story. 

I also got to reminisce when visiting the Department of Infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease, which is based in the Hallamshire Hospital where I worked for 6 years as Head of Administration in the Faculty of Medicine. I even got to visit the Deans' office, where I used to get called Christine if he was in a good mood, Dr Sexton if he was in a bad mood, and, on one occasion, Ma'am when I knew I was in dead trouble!  Fascinating work going on in this department. They are looking at personalised medicine, and part of this is looking at the gut flora, which is considered to be significant in why we react differently to different drugs, and are susceptible to different diseases.

I do love my job in computing, but I do miss science sometimes!