About Me

My name is Tamlyn, a Senior Teaching fellow in the Faculty of Medicine. I did my degrees and research in immunology, but my experience as an (amateur) mountaineer helped me secure my current role teaching physiology and research to medical students, including on field trips.

My Role Models

Charles Darwin

Everyone knows Darwin; big beard, went on a long voyage to Galapagos and studied finches, discovered the theory of evolution. So, as a science student on a BSc course, I decided I should at least attempt to read ‘On the Origin of Species…’, given its pervasiveness in scientific culture.

I begrudgingly bought a copy in a pound shop, but once starting quickly found myself getting into it. At one point found myself shouting “it’s a gene! You’re describing a gene!”, something that wouldn’t be discovered for nearly a century.

The reason Darwin is famous is not the beard, not the Beagle expedition, not the theory of evolution (many others, such as Alfred Russel Wallace were coming to the same conclusions), but the fact he wrote a book to explain his ideas to the public of the time, in ways they would understand. He eloquently steps through his arguments, deducing what must and must not be true like his contemporary Sherlock Holmes, and uses examples that a lay reader of the time would understand, such as pigeon breeding, leading the reader through his chain of thought and building up simple ideas in a single organism to the concept of ‘deep time’ over which evolution operates. At the same time, he deftly skirts the controversies this would inevitably come from suggesting other forces than Creationism led to humans. These explanations are so good, that they’re still the keystone of teaching evolution a century and a half later.

Having bought my first copy for £1, I now own a fancy leather-bound 1st edition 1908 copy - worth several hundred, but I only somehow paid another pound(!) from a second-hand bookshop – as I felt I needed to have a sufficiently respectful version for such an important book.

’On the origin of Species…’ highlights the fact that being able to explain your science is equally important as actually doing it, and you need to be able to respect your audience enough to help them understand the complex ideas you’re trying to communicate.

Plus, he managed to go on a work jolly for nearly five years – total role model.

Griffith Pugh

Griffith Pugh is a bit of an unsung hero; he’s a big reason Everest was ‘conquered’ in 1953, but doesn’t get the credit.

While a bit of a grump, he was fascinated with physiology and the outdoors. Previous expeditions failed because climbers were dehydrated, ill, or oxygen-starved, and didn’t take preparation seriously (it had previously been considered cheating!). He was meticulous in designing much of the 1953 expedition, from the climbing boots to the diet and food hygiene, up to the delivery systems for oxygen while climbing, ensuring the attempt’s success.

During all of this, he was also conducting much research on the human body at altitude, using the (slightly unwilling) expedition members as subjects, but in the process opening up a whole new field of sports and extreme physiology.

Contemporary accounts of the expedition downplay the importance or even the presence of science in the success, as it was seen antithesis to the ‘derring-do’ of mountaineering where man alone outwits nature.

He was subsequently the scientific leader of famous the Silver Hut Expedition, which built a laboratory in the Himalaya at 5800m. For nine months overwinter, they investigated the process of acclimatisation to altitude, as well as conducted a mass of other research, searched for the Yeti (this brought in much-needed funding; they found nothing and disproved several artefacts) and attempted several summits including the first ascent of Ama Dablam. I was lucky enough to meet one of the expedition members, Jim Milledge, at a small meeting a few years ago.

I envy Griffith’s ability to turn a hobby into a career, and admire his attention to detail making amazing achievements in difficult environments.

Learn More

If you want to learn more about my role models here are some recommendations