Life as a Dyslexic Scientist

Most people with whom I work would not know it but I am dyslexic. At school, when I was 7 and a half, I had a reading age of about 6, yet a vocabulary and understanding of a 9 year old. You might think that is not too bad, but most kids, expected to go on to university, would have a reading age of about 10 at this stage. My concerned mother found a local child psychologist, who was interested in reading skills and asked him for some guidance. I was diagnosed with a dyslexic profile when I was 8 and a half. I was found to have a high IQ and be very articulate but struggled to link things together on paper. My mother explained to me that if she was to list a bunch of numbers and suggest I say them back to her backwards, or even normally, I could not remember any more than a string of 3 digits. The way I remember it as a child, was letters swimming around the page, finding I was much slower at doing anything which the other kids could do in minutes or seconds and maybe feeling a little stupid at times, which was not helped by a deep fear of reading aloud.

Following a change to a school where I could get good learning support, I was soon reading at normal level and within 4 years I spoke and wrote in 2 languages in addition to English, read sheet music and frequently worked my way through 12 to 20 novels a year, often reading 3 at once. My mother divulged to me later that she had been so worried that I would never be able to go to university or find a job, she had planned to change career when I finished school and open a coffee shop where I would get be able to get a job as I was a keen baker.

So, how did I become a scientist? Well science has always been in my blood so to speak, as I grew up baking (lots of chemistry) and in a household of mathematicians, physicists and engineers. I also loved going to science festivals to watch chemists turning one thing into another, and biologists explaining cell structures and how organs worked, and fell in love with the subjects by my early teens. When I was in high school my Support for Learning classroom had pictures of famous dyslexics including Albert Einstein and Alexander Graham Bell, and 13-year-old me thought “You know what, if they can do it, so can I!”

I went on to study a Bachelor’s degree in pharmacology and a Master’s degree in drug delivery before starting my PhD a couple of years ago. I will admit it was always pretty tough studying, as it took me twice as long to absorb things and twice as long to construct essays, but I will always be grateful for the provisions put in place for me both at school and university. I was always so utterly determined I was going to do what I loved that I gave it everything and continue to do so now.

So how do I make it work as a dyslexic scientist?

Writing essays:

• I bullet point my work and then fill in the gaps to get my head together.

• I double and triple check things, as spelling and order of numbers does occasionally cause me issues, particularly if I am writing while tired.

Studying (or day to day work):

• Most dyslexics are quite visual:

- I draw elaborate diagrams in different colours with arrows to remember particular areas

- I draw out tablet formulations before I make them

-When reading papers, I tend to go through and dissect individual sections on word to make it easier for my brain to process.

• Saying things aloud is preferable to just reading, movement can also help:

- I walk around the room talking to myself

- I give myself a pop quiz with flash cards

- I make up songs to remember drug names

I will say that having dyslexia has been positive for me in some ways. It made me a very thoughtful and careful writer as an adult. Some research into dyslexia suggests an association between it and greater creativity and curiosity (for more information please see the work of Yale School of Medicine and some recent journal articles, here and here). As such it perhaps made me a more imaginative and inquisitive child. I was always making up stories, asking questions and drawing everything that popped into my head, which probably allowed me to develop my creative visual side. That may have been part of what allowed me to become an efficient researcher.

I will finish on a word of advice to all dyslexics (and to be honest anyone reading this) – believe you can do it, never give up and never ever worry about looking silly or stupid!

Alice x

P.S. For more posts about being a female scientist check out my good friend over at Caffeinated Reactions's Ladies Who Lab posts (the first one can be found here). 

Macarons

In the spirit of the return of the Great British Bake Off I thought I would write my first baking blog. If you have ever watched GBBO you will know of the artistry of the macaron and what an utter pest they are. However, if you have been to a French patisserie and experienced the beautiful crunchy and yet satisfyingly chewy shell encasing a luscious filling, you will know that they are something to be desired. As such over the course of the last 2 years I have tried to perfect how to make macarons. My first few attempts were incredibly varied with issues such as spreading, ballooning, sticking, cracking and not rising, some of which I will try and provide troubleshooting for here. I will admit after my macarons working only 50% of the time, and not knowing why, I went to a macaron course a few months ago and it very much helped me to know what the consistency of the mixture should be and how they should look when they are ready. As such the method given here is based on the one I learnt at Tennents Training Academy Cook School. I will give forewarning that macaron making is not an exact science and the smallest difference in an oven, the humidity of your kitchen or even the type of baking paper you use can change how they behave.

You will need:

100g ground almonds (the finer the better)

200g icing sugar

125g egg whites

75g caster sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

A few drops of gel food colouring

Your choice of filling

Step 1: Grind down your icing sugar and almonds in the food processor and sieve (just sieve if you don’t have a food processor).

Step 2: Beat your egg white to the soft peak stage and then add the caster sugar and beat to achieve stiff peaks (basically you are making a French meringue at this stage).

Step 3: Add your gel colouring to your meringue.

Step 4: Fold in your almond mix with a spatula and then continue to fold until the mixture forms ribbons, be careful not to over or under mix.

Step 5: Add the mix to a piping bag (I use disposable ones because it is highly messy).

Step 6: Holding the piping bag vertically, pipe out your mix to form a small circle from one central point, allowing the mix to flow, (do not try and pipe from the outside in or spiral out) and repeat until your tray is filled.

Step 7: Bang your trays off a surface a few times to get rid of big air bubbles.

Step 8: Leave for 30 minutes to form a skin.

Step 9: Bake for 8-15 minutes at 130 degrees centigrade.

Step 10: Leave to cool completely on the tray (don’t be tempted to pry them off while hot,  they will split or crack).

Step 11: Prepare your filling.

Ganache - 50:50 dark chocolate to double cream with golden syrup to taste (I personally am a chocoholic, particularly for dark chocolate, so I add very little).

Butter cream - 2:3 Butter to icing sugar with a touch of vanilla extract or if you’re feeling fancy use vanilla powder or pods (caution though this can be a little gritty). Play with flavours by adding jam or lemon curd or melted white chocolate.

Step 12: Gently peel your macarons off the baking sheet. It may be easier to do this by peeling the paper from the bottom using the edge of the tray. 

Step 13: Add your filling and enjoy!

Top Tips:

• See if you can find the thicker vanilla extract that is like syrup as this tends to be nicer.
• Use gel food colouring, not liquid food colouring.
• Draw circles on the back of your baking sheet as a guide until you are confident enough to pipe completely freehand.
• Do not use a silicon baking matt – I know it is tempting because they have dimples to guide piping and stop spreading but the shiny, greasy surface will prevent the macarons forming a proper foot. Also if the mix is needing to be prevented from spreading the fact you have overmixed will still cause other problems.
• You can make the shells a few days ahead of filling, just be sure to keep them in a dry cupboard in a sealed container.

Troubleshooting:

• They fail to form a proper foot – this generally means they have been sitting out too long before baking, or, have experienced grease exposure, too much moisture in the air or over mixing.
• Spreading – this is generally due to over mixing or moisture exposure.
• Cracks –  this is generally due to under mixing.
• Ballooning – this may be due to the use of silicon mats, grease exposure, lack of mixing or not banging your tray.
• Sticking – this may be the result of using the wrong baking sheet, or, may suggest they need longer cooling and/or cooking.

Good luck!

Hi All

Just to set the scene, I am currently relaxing after a busy week in the lab with a bag of fudge, watching Gilmore Girls, as my labrador looks up at me with a look of "why am I not the sole object of your attention?". This is my first time blogging and I have to admit I was not sure where to begin but I guess I should just start by saying hi everyone! 

The idea of writing a blog came to me as a result of watching work colleagues writing them and finding such enjoyment in them (if you want to see their awesome blogs check out Caffeinated Reactions and Tiggy Poes and Flutterbys). I remember seriously considering it both when I was attempting to make macarons for the first time and midway through a 25 hour hill walk when I was thinking "I'm loving this and wanting to cry simultaneously - I should write this down!". So here I am.

In all seriousness though I hope I can inspire or bring a few laughs from my crazy life as a scientist, hill walker, baker and climber.  

Hoping to blog again soon,

Alice x