Patricia Aldred

Dr Patricia Aldred studied Human Genetics at the University of Nottingham before staying on for a PhD in Genetics as well, researching variants that affect susceptibility to HIV-1 infection as well as copy number variation in human defensin genes. She followed the traditional route into academia and worked as a PostDoc Research Associate at the University of Leicester, using yeast as a model system for Human colon cancer and male infertility as mismatch repair genes are highly conserved throughout evolutionary history.

After the birth of her second child, she found the demands of commuting and the hours required in research to be just too much and took a break, tutoring GCSE and A level students privately. She was delighted to be appointed as an AL on S317 (Biology: from genes to species) in 2016. The following year, Patricia was offered a number of other modules to teach on and, as her youngest child was off to school, she took the plunge and has never looked back! 

Patricia now works full time, tutoring S317, S294, SK299, S285, S295 and SDK100 which keeps her busy but also allows her to balance work and family life as well, in just the same way that the OU allows students to balance their study and other commitments.

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