Profile

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Sarah Smoni Varghese

    • About Me:

      Hello! I am originally from Kerala, which is in south India. I moved to Dublin in 2018 and have been loving my time in Dublin so far! I love swimming and try to go for sea swims too!

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      I am currently in my third year of my PhD which focusses on organic chemistry in Prof. Pat Guiry’s lab in UCD.

      I love Dublin, but home is still Kerala, so I visit my hometown in India every year where I get to spend time with my family and get a break from chemistry!

      My hobbies include swimming and discovering new cafe’s.

    • My pronouns are:

      She/her

    • My Work:

      My PhD is in the field of organic chemistry. I focus on making catalysts that can be applied in reactions to make chiral compounds. Chiral compounds are compounds that exist in 2 forms which are non-superimposable mirror images of each other (just like the palms of your hand!) It is important to make chiral compounds because most pharmaceutical compounds are chiral. And our body is a chiral environment, where certain receptors can accept only one of the forms of the chiral molecule.

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      The first 2 years of my PhD focused on making the catalyst, and this year I am looking in to applying the catalyst in making chiral compounds selectively!

    • My Typical Day:

      I get to work around 9, where I usually work in the lab till 1pm. Then everyone in the lab goes for lunch together, here we play our daily games which includes -Spotle (guess the artist from clues given), Bandle (guess the song from clues given) and Reheardle (guess the song from the first few seconds). The send part of the day usually involves analyzing my data and I leave the lab around 5:30 pm.

    Curriculum Vitae

    • My Interview

      • How would you describe yourself in 3 words?

        Swimmer and chemist

        What was your favourite subject at school?

        Chemistry and Maths

        What did you want to be after you left school?

        I wasn't sure, but I wanted to learn science!

        Were you ever in trouble at school?

        no

        If you weren't doing this job, what would you choose instead?

        Engineer

        Who is your favourite singer or band?

        When Chai Met Toast

        What's your favourite food?

        Pani Puri

        What is the most fun thing you've done?

        I had 2 pet ducks

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