Laurence Goosey
Demonstrator
Biography
Laurence is a Senior Technical Officer in the School of Natural Sciences. He studied for a BSc in Zoology with Conservation at Bangor University and is currently working on an MRes in Biological Sciences at Chester University. During his undergraduate degree Laurence trained with UK conservation groups to survey native reptiles and amphibians. He was invited to assist the reptile team at Chester Zoo and undertook a 12-month internship working across the tropical house, butterfly house and aquarium. Laurence joined the Medical Research Council in Oxford working as an animal technician and then a phenotyping technician. Laurence then worked as a seasonal field surveyor for Thompson Ecology. Following this he joined the University of Manchester where he worked as a senior research technician for 7 years. Laurence has a broad interest in zoology, research and animal husbandry.
Teaching and Supervision
I provide technical support to the research and animal labs and demonstrate across most programmes within the department, with a focus on Comparative Anatomy, Data Handling, Genetics and Evolution, Microbiology, Research Methods, and several ecology-based field trips. I support dissertations, particularly for students working in the molecular and microbiology labs.
Research and Knowledge Exchange
Over the course of 7 years at Manchester I supported groups with varied interests, from the diagnosis and understanding of Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome, to the function and health implications of circadian rhythms. My work centred on laboratory techniques, primarily DNA and RNA work such as genotyping, qPCR, data collation and analysis. I also worked in cell and tissue culture where I pioneered an ex vivo lung slice culture and treatment method for my lab group. Combining this technique with PMTs (real-time luminescence reporters) and tissue from genetically modified knockin animals, where the firefly luciferase gene is fused into the circadian regulated Period2 gene, it is possible to visualise the lung tissues’ circadian rhythm and observe the impact of certain compounds or conditions. At Chester, my MRes thesis is investigating the landscape genetics of the White-faced darter dragonfly in Scotland, the species' last UK stronghold. My work is largely centred in the molecular lab (CTH003) using techniques such as DNA extraction/purification, PCR and Sanger sequencing. I am a member of the Conservation Biology Research Group (CBRG) and the Technical Research Group (TRG).