Amy Francis

Current Employer/Organisation Name

Nexus BioQuest

What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?

PhD in Bioinformatics & Machine Learning at the University of Bristol, AI Internship at Roche, currently a Senior Data Scientist working for a biotech scale up in the Bristol area.

Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?

Honestly, I just really enjoy it. Every day is different which keeps it interesting, and I love working with clients to solve interesting scientific challenges.
The drug discovery piece is a big part of why I got into this. The idea that the work might actually contribute to something that helps people – that feels like a pretty good reason to come to work.

Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?

Lifting Club

What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?

The people. The lecturers were genuinely committed and that makes such a difference – you could tell they cared about what they were teaching and that enthusiasm was infectious.
I also really valued the challenge of it. It pushed me in ways I didn’t always expect.
But the biggest highlight was definitely my year in industry at the Francis Crick Institute. Getting real hands-on experience in that environment. That year really shaped what I wanted to do and confirmed I was on the right path.

What did you most enjoy about studying here?

The campus life was brilliant – I really threw myself into it and made friends I know I’ll have for life.
And the location… having the city and the beach on your doorstep is pretty hard to beat.

Why did you choose to study at Exeter?

As soon as I visited I just fell in love with the campus. That was pretty much it – I knew straight away it was where I wanted to be and didn’t apply to any other universities!

What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?

The degree really set me up well. Learning to work independently and tackle hard problems – that’s something I use every single day in my work now.
The coursework was challenging but that’s exactly what made it useful. And the feedback from lecturers was constructive, which helped me grow a lot.
The year in industry was probably the most directly transferable experience. It bridged that gap between academia and the real world in a way that nothing else really could have.

What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?

Get as much experience as you possibly can – it helps you prepare for the working world but also helps you figure out what you actually want to do. My year in industry completely changed my direction. I went in expecting to stay in wet lab science and came out wanting to pursue data science and machine learning. I never would have known that without doing it.
Since then, I’ve just said yes to every opportunity that’s come my way, and that’s really paid off.
The market is tough, so networking matters more than people realise. The more connections you build, the easier it is to get your foot in the door.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to keep learning and progressing in AI and machine learning applied to science – it’s such an exciting space to be in right now.
I believe we’re on the cusp of some really significant discoveries being made with AI. It’s going to accelerate drug discovery in ways we’re only just beginning to see, and the idea of being part of that – even in a small way – is what gets me excited about the future.