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Yoyo (Ting Yiu) DIXON (Senior Laboratory Manager)

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Yoyo (Ting Yiu) DIXON (Senior Laboratory Manager)

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I am originally from Hong Kong, which was a British colony until 1997 July. Not long after that I left my birth country and came over to the UK on my own. Initially, I stayed with my slightly older cousin in Glasgow. I then moved to London myself for undergraduate (UG). I was lucky enough to do an industrial placement in Belgium for almost a year. I was not sure what I wanted to do after UG study, but it's clear to me that I enjoy living in the UK than my birth country. I thought I would do a master and then get a job after, but at the end I was fortunate enough to be awarded a PhD studentship. Completing a PhD study was such a great experience, going to conferences within the UK and abroad meeting various people of different background or ethnicity. This was also where I met my husband, who was one of the PhD students in the next laboratory down the corridor.
My first job in the UK was working at Pfizer as a short-term contracted scientist and because of that I also moved out of London to Kent. I joined Imperial College as Research Associate over a decade ago, and my current role is probably my 4th role at Imperial.
My husband had an opportunity to relocate to South East England and we bought our first home in Reading. Not long after we got engaged, got married and our daughter (mixed race) came along who has just turned 9. When she was a toddler, I volunteered to run weekly PlayCantonese session at the local central library on Saturdays in order to expose her to as much Cantonese and Chinese culture as much as possible. She can speak Cantonese, albeit her English is much stronger. She has a good food palate and enjoys celebrating all types of festivals.

Representation of all races do matter because everyone is unique and should be valued and be treated equally with respect as an individual.
My advice to you is - be yourself, be proud of who you are, your culture, your heritage. be passionate, be open-minded and be adventurous.

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Mary Caspillo-Brewer (Due Diligence Manager, Research Office)

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Mary Caspillo-Brewer (Due Diligence Manager, Research Office)

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I am originally from the Philippines and have lived in London for 12 years. Prior to that I was living in Bangkok for 7 years where I have met my British husband who also works at Imperial and we have a three year old daughter. One of the positive things that came out of the COVID pandemic is that we have been spending quite a lot of time together as a small family of three. I was spurred on to setup meaningful and engaging play activities at home to keep our toddler entertained during lockdown. Last year, we started doing Filipino Fridays which allowed me to introduce our daughter to her Filipino heritage through play, reading Filipino children’s books and singing Filipino nursery rhymes. It might still be awhile until we can finally travel back to the Philippines so for the time being, we have been recreating ‘fiesta’ (Filipino summer festivals) scenes using recycled cardboard and eating pretend ‘lechon’ (hog roast) and ‘pancit’ (noodles) made of playdough and making our own ‘parol’ (star lantern) for Christmas.

I do believe that it is powerful for people of ALL races to be represented at Imperial especially in senior levels. For students and new staff members, having access to mentors and colleagues who look like you, have similar experiences to you and come from the same background as you, can offer a source of inspiration! My advice to ESEA students is to be proud of your heritage, celebrate it and share it with others. Food is always a big hit so organise a ‘cook-along’ of your favourite traditional dish with your friends!

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An East Asian woman with black hair, smiling and holding her hair as it gets blown by the strong ocean wind on the West Coast of California.

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Soh-yon Park 박소연 (Design Researcher, IGHI)

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Soh-yon Park 박소연 (Design Researcher, IGHI)

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Hello!

I am a 1.5 gen Korean-Canadian - born in Germany but spent most of my life rollerblading through the concrete jungle of Korea and exploring forests of Douglas Fir trees of the West Coast of Canada. I've been living in London for almost three years now.

I call myself a Third Culture Kid as I immigrated to a small town in Canada in the centre of Coast Salish territory of First Nations at age 12 with my family. Growing up in a predominantly white society, I experienced all sorts of racism and microaggressions, from kids frowning upon my lunch box to people asking me 'if I see the world in wide screen.' My teenage-hood took my Korean identity away, into shame and avoidance. When you live in a world where people constantly 'other' you, you start to question your own identity - "I am more Canadian than Korean."

Over the years of my early adulthood, I started to see how beautiful my culture is and how no one can take away my culture from me. The way umma spends hours preparing and cooking Korean food for me when I return home for the holidays; the stories appa tells me of Korean history and the history of our families; the way we celebrate interdependence while understanding the need for independence. I can't leave out that I met a group of Korean-Canadians and Korean International students to hang out with during my undergrad, who helped me feel reassured and proud of who I am. Also... The Food (Ugh, sooooooo delicious). The dynamic languages of love in our culture brought me into the entire presence of my identity as a Korean.

Representation matters because everyone's experience is unique, but there is a shared understanding of each other's presence. You know, the feeling of being understood without having to explain yourself? Representation makes you feel understood and show you that we are an incredibly diverse group of people.

My advice for ESEA students is never ever to let anyone, including yourself, trick you into believing the Model Minority Myth (https://www.learningforjustice.org/magazine/what-is-the-model-minority-myth). Do not internalise stereotypes, don't be afraid to struggle to understand your cultural identity, and don't forget to start celebrating your identity, no matter what it is. It is the most incredible privilege to grow up/live/embrace multiple cultures.

"I am more Korean than Canadian," and yes, I cheer for Korea during the Olympics and the World Cup.

p.s. If you haven't had a decent night out with Koreans yet, I highly recommend you experience Korean drinking games, karaoke, and finger food and soju... you will never want to go back to a regular pub night.

If you want to connect, or need any mentorship, feel free to reach out to me at soh.park18@imperial.ac.uk and Twitter @soh_yon

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hi,

I am Chinese-Malaysian (loud and proud)who was born in the Netherlands and grew up in Belgium!

I work in the POD and I am also a children illustrator. My website is www.moonlie.co.uk!

The reason why ESEA matters is because there is a real richness and diversity that is often overlooked in mainstream media and everyday conversations. For me, personally is the realisation of different Chinese cultures. Growing up I thought my roots lied with China but after having travelled there, I realised that the culture is vastly different to the Chinese Malaysian culture I was exposed to and that is why we need to consider 'multiple' Chinese cultures.

My advice is to don't be shy in promoting yourself by showing passion, commitment and professionalism in your work, build relationships and always be approachable!

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Hi! I am a fourth-generation Chinese-Malaysian and I have been living in the UK for five years. Having ESEA representation in ICL is important not only for better work and learning experience but also for inspiring future generations from a diverse range of backgrounds. My advice to ESEA students is to seek allies who believe in you and your capabilities regardless of where you come from. If you don’t know where to start, please get in touch with me! I speak English, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Malay.

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Summary

I am a biochemist by training and my research mostly focuses on molecular evolution and engineering. I am broadly interested in the mechanisms and mutations underpinning organismal adaptation, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). One question I am mulling over at the moment is: Can we predict the evolution of AMR, and how?

Currently I am a member of the Molecular Systems group at the Institute of Clinical Sciences/ MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS).

Selected Publications

Journal Articles

Soo VWC, Yosaatmadja Y, Squire CJ, et al. close, 2016, Mechanistic and evolutionary insights from the reciprocal promiscuity of two pyridoxal phosphate-dependent enzymes., Journal of Biological Chemistry, Vol:291, ISSN:0021-9258, Pages:19873-19887

Soo VWC, McAnulty MJ, Tripathi A, et al. close, 2016, Reversing methanogenesis to capture methane for liquid biofuel precursors, Microbial Cell Factories, Vol:15, ISSN:1475-2859

Soo VWC, Hanson-Manful P, Patrick WM, 2011, Artificial gene amplification reveals an abundance of promiscuous resistance determinants in Escherichia coli, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Vol:108, ISSN:0027-8424, Pages:1484-1489

More Publications

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I am a biochemist by training and my research mostly focuses on molecular evolution and engineering. I am broadly interested in the mechanisms and mutations underpinning organismal adaptation, particularly in the context of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). One question I am mulling over at the moment is: Can we predict the evolution of AMR, and how?

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I'm British Chinese, born and raised in the West Midlands - proud Brummie for life. Being British ESEA in ICL is important to me because I represent an experience of being Chinese that is different from international Chinese students/staff, which is important to show that we are not all shaped by the same cultural experiences simply because we 'look the same'. My advice to ESEA students is to never let anyone make you feel that you have to let go of your ESEA heritage to succeed - if they don't like any part of your ESEA background, it's their problem and not yours.

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Assistant Supervisor to PhD students (Johnson group; Parturition research) Personal Tutor for BSc Medica

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For the first East and South East Asian heritage month, we want to celebrate the true diversity of our ESEA members at Imperial! Whether you are a student, an academic or professional staff member, say hi and introduce yourself on this padlet – this is the time step into your spotlight in our community!

So tell us about you!

What part of your ESEA heritage do you most like to share?

Why does ESEA representation in ICL matter to you?

What advice would you give to ESEA students in ICL?

Feel free to post your ICL webpage and/or professional social media profiles too!

The Padlet will stay open until 30 September

East and South East Asia countries/regions are:

Mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, Taiwan, Brunei, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, along with many minority groups that may not identify with such states, countries or regions.

Feel free to forward to any ESEA people you know at Imperial