LCL Pen Portraits - Jess Jervis

I first joined LCL in January 2020 as an MLA in Specimen Reception back in the Duncan Building. I came to LCL because I wanted to start my career in healthcare science and following a 4-year study period it was time to put what I’d learnt at university into practice. I completed my undergraduate degree in Human Physiology at the University of Liverpool where I then studied my Master of Research degree in Biomedical Sciences with Translational Medicine (specialising in Gastroenterology). Following my master’s degree, I worked as a Clinical trials Assistant in Manchester before starting at LCL. I also used to be a swimming teacher and back in the day trained up to 18 hours a week as a competitive swimmer. After winning a gold medal at the British National Championships for the women’s team medley relay, I wanted to give something back to the sport by teaching. I then started at LCL in January 2020. Shortly after starting, I was seconded to Virology to help with the Covid-19 pandemic in June 2020. I was always really interested in the analysis of test results and the implications of these for the patient therefore, I pursued my career in biomedical science. I was successful in obtaining a trainee BMS position within the department in August 2020. I became a HCPC registered biomedical scientist in September 2021 then completed my IBMS specialist portfolio in Virology in 2022. During my trainee and specialist portfolios I completed my second master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences with Greenwich University. I then obtained my internal trainee clinical scientist post in March 2023 and started in September of that year where I have started my third master’s degree (I must be mad!) in Clinical Microbiology. I have also started to represent the IBMS by assessing registration and specialist BMS portfolios.

I enjoy my role because it enables bench side medicine to be linked to the laboratory and having worked as a BMS in the laboratory I have carried my technical knowledge forward into the clinical aspect of the role. It is rewarding to know that in some way, my work is helping a patient somewhere which is important to remember. I enjoy working in a supportive and friendly team and we will always endeavour to help each other if needed. As an STP, my role varies throughout my training as I spend time in both Microbiology and Virology laboratories in addition to working with the Consultants. I am currently learning the different benches in the Microbiology laboratory which is very different to Virology! I also have a key role in the Brucella Reference Laboratory (BRU) here at Liverpool and work with colleagues across the UK and Ireland which is really interesting. I work with lots of different colleagues in my role both inside and out of the Trust and have met even more new colleagues since I started my training which is another aspect of my job that I enjoy.

The most rewarding part of my career was completing the FIEBRE study which involved testing 12,300 samples for Brucella IgM/IgG and confirming all positive samples. Although this was a huge challenge, completing it felt very rewarding and this research fed into a huge study including several different infectious diseases.

Outside of work I like to go the gym and teach spin in my spare time as I am qualified spin instructor as well! I live with my partner and my little pug who both bring me a lot of joy. I love spending time with my family and I also enjoy gardening when the weather is nice. In the summer, I enjoy travelling to Greece and would like to visit as many Greek islands as possible. I am also an Everton fan although this has been quite frustrating at times over the last few seasons!