LIZ AINSBURY is a data analyst at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in Oxfordshire, but her job title hides the fact that she is a physicist with a specific interest in radiation.

Ainsbury completed two degrees at the University of Bristol. The first was a BSc in physics and astrophysics that included a year of industrial experience. She spent her third year as a commercial research scientist at QinetiQ, a defence technology company, working on the development of a 3-D holographic work station — an experience that confirmed her love for the discipline.

“I knew I enjoyed physics, but when you’re learning the subject it’s about passing exams,” she says. “At QinetiQ I discovered that it was quite different in the real world, where it’s not what you know but how you can apply things.”

After this she returned to university to finish her degree. It was her final-year project, building a cosmic ray detector for use in schools, that sparked her interest in radiation physics. She also started to think about doing a PhD, something she had not previously considered. “To do a PhD, you don’t have to be a genius. You have to be interested in your subject and really enjoy it.”

By coincidence, she also discovered that there was a group at Bristol studying the effects of radiation on human beings. The group had a PhD post and funding and agreed to take her on if she got a 2:1 — which she did. By 2003 she was studying for a doctorate in physics.

Her research was about extremely low-frequency magnetic fields, such as those created by power lines, and their effect on health, including childhood leukaemia. The work involved many disciplines in addition to physics, including biochemistry and medical science as well as electro-magnetics.

“Sometimes people think physics is a dry subject, but I really love physics and I love finding things out. My PhD project also had a direct relevance to people’s lives.”

The project was noticed by the Institute of Physics, which awarded her the Very Early Career Woman Physicist of the Year Award. The honour also recognised the outreach work that she has done to encourage students, especially girls, to study physics at university level and beyond.

“I try to dispel the myths that physics is really difficult and you have to be good at maths,” she says.

Ainsbury, who recently submitted her PhD thesis, joined the HPA radiation effects group, part of the Radiation Protection Division, at the end of February.

The group receives blood samples from all over the world from people who have been exposed to radiation. Its scientists examine the damage to the chromosomes and work out the size of the dose of radiation to which the person being tested was exposed. They also undertake research on the effects of radiation. The group is comprised mainly of biologists, so part of Ainsbury’s job is advising them on the physics of ionising radiation as well as helping to analyse data.

A typical day at the office involves some maths and statistics, plus quite a lot of reading to keep up to date. She also responds to questions from the public, university research groups and institutes that give radiation advice.

Despite being new at the HPA, there will be plenty of opportunities to develop her role, she says. She will do her own research and there are plans for her to do some radiation protection lecturing, both in-house and at universities.

“I’m very lucky to have this job. It’s great to get up in the morning and know you enjoy what you do,” she says. JENNIFER TAYLOR www.hpa.org.uk

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