My PhD is looking at  eDNA - we're looking
at developing an environmental DNA test
to detect the presence or absence of
crayfish in rivers and streams in the UK.
I find research really rewarding, when
you get results it's really exciting so
when this PhD came up - which was perfect 
in my area - I thought I've got to go for this!
As part of the college of life for
natural sciences there are lots of
opportunities to collaborate within the
college. These come about through the
research groups that we have. There are
opportunities to collaborate with people
from geology to people from chemistry,
which can bring often in many fields
together we also have opportunities to
present at conferences within the
department and also within the whole
university where we can share our
research and often some good discussions
can come from this.
One of the unique things about my PhD
is the relationship it has with an
outside business - SureScreen. There, I'm
able to use facilities and business knowledge
to test my laboratory experiments
in the real world with real customers.
Derby University has a good history of
working with outside businesses to
provide opportunities for students - 
work experience or extra educational opportunities.
It's important these days
to get real-world experience because
when you leave a degree they often say
that you still don't have enough
experience to get a job, but here with
this one I'm getting the experience on the job
so when I finish my PhD I should be
able to hit the ground running and find a job.
