John C.

Details

My background

Hello my name is John, I am an experienced research scientist and science tutor.
I have a combined studies honours degree in Physiology and Biochemistry and a PhD in Physiology (Neuroscience). I can offer you a wide range and depth of experience from both my research and teaching career. I currently teach biology and provide pastoral support for students in the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh.
I am also an associate lecturer with the Open University with three years experience teaching on an online only module called ‘’Human Biology’’. This mean that I am very familiar with teaching in an online environment and I am sure that I can make your learning experience with me, smooth, inspiring and enjoyable.
My research focused on neuronal electrophysiology and cell biology. This included synaptic physiology and cell signalling, neurodegeneration (Prion protein diseases, Alzheimer's disease and Rett syndrome) and the role of neuronal mitochondria in these diseases. I have also studied receptors involved in pain and analgesia (using real time calcium imaging techniques) and the neuroscience of the olfactory system in relation to navigation and homing of Salmon in Scottish rivers. I have published scientific papers, contributed chapters to books and presented at conferences both in the UK and internationally.
During this time I have gained many years experience in teaching Science and Biology. This includes giving lectures, tutorials and leading practical laboratory classes on many aspects of Biological Sciences, including Neuroscience, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Physiology and Zoology.
I have always loved Biology and the natural world. This extends from a love of the outdoors and I have a never ending feeling of amazement at the world around us. As a teenager my fascination in the universe and amateur astronomy opened my eyes to how inspiring apparently ‘hard science’ could be and soon realised that the explanations of reality emerging from science was even more amazing than anything fiction could produce.
This inspired my love of the science of life and all things biological including the human body. My first real passion as a qualified scientist was Physiology and Neuroscience of the brain and nervous system. More recently, as my role has shifted focus away from the research laboratory and more towards teaching I have rekindled my love for general biology, Zoology and wildlife.
For me, the only thing that comes close to that feeling of excitement I get from learning or discovering some new aspect of biology is sharing my amazement with other people. I want to share my never ending sense of wonder at the amazing stories science tells us about the things we see and take for granted all around us. I hope I can share this with you and help nurture your own sense of wonder at the natural world.
In addition to science I enjoy walking, beach combing, rock pooling, cycling, camping and being outdoors. I also love Astronomy, Cosmology and History and I am in a regiment that re-enacts the Jacobite period. I love music and play the guitar, Bodhran and whistle (but all badly I am afraid!).