Dr Vikki Haley

I am a Senior Lecturer and Staff Tutor in the School of Life, Health and Chemical Sciences. I originally studied medicine at the University of Southampton, but whilst I loved the science and clinical aspect, I realised in my final year that working as a Dr wasn't for me. I then studied an MSc with the OU in Science, and was one of the students in the second presentation of the then new MSc programme! After completing my MSc, I worked at the medical school in Southampton as the Prosector, which involved managing the anatomy lab, producing prosections (professional dissections) and teaching a wide-range of healthcare professionals. I was the deputy chair on the renal and reproductive system and digestive system modules, but delivered practicals, tutorials and lectures across all body systems in anatomy and histology. The majority of my teaching was to 1st and 2nd year medical students, however I also taught students from most health care professions, such as midwifery, nursing, physiotherapy, and OH, and ran courses for qualified Drs studying for their specialism exams. I was also a clinical practise tutor, linking the underpinning science to clinical aspects such as pathology, treatment, patient examination, test results, etc. 

I then spent a year in an IGF2/cancer research lab in Bristol, before starting a DPhil in Molecular Oncology at the University of Oxford. My 4-year Dphil looked at in vivo and in vitro interactions between Igf2 and p53 during embryonic and tumour development, with a focus on the genetic and molecular biology of tumour development. After a short post-doc to complete research for publication, I then undertook a postdoc at an Epigenetic/Breast cancer research lab at the Brighton and Sussex Medical school. My main focus was on the role of miRNAs in resistance to cancer therapies in HER2+ breast cancer. I also taught on the cellular and molecular biology modules and chaired the anatomy of the thorax module. Throughout my time in research, I was also involved in a number of clinical trials as the lead biologist. 

Alongside my DPhil and post-doc roles, I have worked as an Associate Lecturer with the OU since 2006 tutoring on SK277 and SDK100. I joined the OU as a Staff Tutor in 2013 and since then have been focused mainly on Health Science and Biology modules. I was part of the team who wrote SDK100, was MTC for the SDK100 B presentation, and am currently co-chair for production of SK190 Human Biology; A body in balance. My interest in molecular biology and epigenetics continues, particularly focusing on the common underlying biological mechanisms associated with long-term health conditions, such as mast-cell mediated neuroinflammation and altered DNA and protein methylation. 

I have just finished a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation, and hope to start undertaking charity work to translate Medical and Scientific texts from Spanish to English.