Bushra Schuitemaker Email & Phone Number

I am a devoted zoologist who has experience in a variety of animal science positions, from being an animal laboratory technician to currently research poultry production for my PhD. As an early career scientist, I am passionate and eager to enact change. The agricultural industry is the least diverse in the UK, followed by the environmental industry and I have been striving to improve this as the former vice-chair of the British Ecological Society’s Racial & Ethnic Equality & Diversity (REED) Ecological Network. Furthermore, my award-winning communication skills, provision of consulting and event organisation would make me a valuable asset to any project.I have always been known for my interest in animals and science. Since high school, I kept and bred chickens in my back garden, assisted at local dog shelters, obtained work experience in veterinary clinics, and spent time volunteering overseas in Malawi to rescue and rehabilitate native animals.In 2015, I graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with a BSc (hons) in zoology. Following this, I was employed at the Wellcome Sanger Institute as an animal technician working with transgenic murine models for obesity and cancer. My enthusiasm for the research was recognised, resulting in being recruited as a scientist for Cancer Research UK Therapeutic Discoveries Laboratory. Despite working on human diseases, I remained invested in using my zoological background for a more sustainable approach to research. As a Friday afternoon project, recognising the limitation in laboratory animal models, I began to investigate spontaneous metastasis in wild animal populations. This resulted in my first publication, for which I was the first author. The publication was so successful, the editors requested a follow-up opinion piece specifically regarding the use of companion canines in oncology research.Eager to continue contributing to the wider scientific community, I decided to pursue a PhD where I could continue to enhance our understanding animal health and the impacts on both humans and our planet. Now, I am in the final year of my PhD in zoology at the Quadram Institute Biosciences, focused on poultry because I am passionate about the future of farming being based on animal health, welfare, and agricultural sustainability.I am eager to make a difference with my PhD project, but I am also committed to being more than a researcher. I hope to achieve this by creating opportunities, building communities, and demonstrating that there is no single way to be a good scientist.