Our members: Summer 2026

A day in the life

RSB Apprentice of the Year Rebecca Bojarski on cell culture, cocker spaniels and career fairs

My alarm goes off…

And I prepare a brew to sip on the way to the gym. I do a 45-minute session before arriving at work at 08:00 and getting some cell culture media warming up in a water bath.

My work involves…

Early-stage research in the high-throughput biology department at Vertex Pharmaceuticals. I’m in the laboratory four days a week running cellular and biochemical assays, while studying for my BSc in applied bioscience at the University of Kent one day a week. It’s not always easy to balance work and study – being an apprentice requires a lot of determination and discipline.

On a typical day…

I spend most of my time in the laboratory. I usually start my day in our cell culture lab, ensuring that enough healthy cells are available for testing in our assays. Then I’ll head to another lab and run assays to characterise compounds made by our medicinal chemistry department. Once all my lab work is done, I’ll catch up with my team to discuss our latest data and share ideas.

I work with…

Lots of exciting automation robotics, which enable my team to run experiments more efficiently and precisely. We have several robots that are capable of moving equipment around, adding reagents and measuring experimental data.

Right now I am…

Working on a six-month research project in the final part of my degree. My goal is to optimise, miniaturise and automate an existing low-throughput assay into a high-throughput screening format, which will enable faster characterisation of chemical compounds to identify potential new drugs.

I also…

Love getting involved in volunteering. I am my lab’s Green Biology representative, responsible for implementing sustainability initiatives to reduce our impact on the environment. I also enjoy attending career fairs and visiting my old school to promote science apprenticeships to young people.

After work…

I love to meet with friends to cook a meal, bake a dessert and watch a movie together. I also love going on walks with my dog, Campbell – he’s a working cocker spaniel so he’s always ready for an adventure!

The Career Ladder

Brian Yates CBiol MRSB on environmental consulting, staying curious and his love of musical theatre

I first discovered biology…

Very early on in my life. I grew up on the east coast of Canada and spent my summers on the beach and in the ocean, captivated by the wildlife along the coast. The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau mesmerised me, as it told the story of the staggering diversity of the world’s oceans and coasts – and I got my SCUBA certification before I left high school. Throughout my education I naturally gravitated towards biology and was fascinated by its endless complexity.

In my studies…

I gained a BSc in biology followed by a master’s degree in public administration, focusing on environmental policy. Initially I had been interested in a career in microbiology and virology, but I found that while the field deeply interested me (and still does), I didn’t have the knack for laboratory research.

I always knew…

I wanted to have a career in the life sciences, but the difficulty was working out which branch. There were opportunities and interesting work in the environmental sciences, so I followed that path for a while. I detoured into genomics and biotechnology with a startup in Singapore, and then found my way back to environmental consulting.

A pivotal point in my career was…

As I was completing my master’s, I attended a lecture by the late Tony Whitten, an inspiring Cambridge ecologist who was writing a book on the ecology of Java and Bali. His description of the enormous beauty and diversity of Indonesia’s tropical forests and coral reef systems captured me. I found out that the programme funding his work also provided for graduate Fellowships to study in Indonesia. My decision to apply, secure the Fellowship and study marine protected areas in Indonesia placed me in a huge network of senior scientists and environmental professionals from organisations around the world, and really launched my career as an environmental professional.

The best thing about my job is…

The people. I work with top experts in every STEM field you could imagine and get to engage with them every day. I am constantly learning, and I love it.

The worst thing about my job is…

I do miss having direct involvement in projects. Helping a client find a solution to a tough problem can be a joy.

Currently I am…

Managing director for Stantec in the UK and Ireland. I oversee all of our work here, including around 4,000 professionals in the energy, environmental sciences, buildings, water and community development sectors.

A key piece of advice is…

Beyond the technical field you have in front of you, work on your interpersonal and communication skills. Stay curious about the work and expertise of those around you. You never know where or how you will get your next idea, and often it will emerge from pieces of information or perspectives from completely different disciplines or domains of experience. And prepare yourself to say yes to new opportunities.

Not many of my colleagues know…

I enjoy theatre, musical theatre and literature. I’ve been on stage in Gilbert and Sullivan musicals, and dusted off my old clarinet a few years ago to support a student orchestra. These sorts of experiences foster creativity in the sciences and help us think outside our disciplinary boxes.