Shane Murray
Genomics coordinator & Domain Expert
What is your role in the DIPLOMICS network?
Genomics Coordinator and Domain Expert.
What do you enjoy most about your work?
Solving problems, working in a team, and helping people.
Why is the Omics industry so important in South Africa?
OMICS technologies (encompassing Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics and Bioinformatics) allow researchers to investigate important biological challenges such as cancer, disease resistance and crop stress tolerance from a systems biology perspective. It is vital that South African researchers have access to these tools in order to tackle key challenges relevant to South Africa.
Use an adjective that best describes yourself.
Asks-many-questions!
What are your favourite past times?
Week-ends away to off-the-beaten track places with family and friends, hiking, reading, swimming in Cape Town’s many stunning tidal pools.
Describe someone who is an inspiration in your life, and why.
As Genetics undergrad students we learnt about Barbara McClintock’s discovery in the 1950s of transposons or “jumping genes” in maize, which are now known to be a major component of plant genomes. Her findings were so beyond the understandings of the time that they were initially ignored, but she persisted, and her discovery was later acknowledged with the award of the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1983. It’s an inspiring story of careful scientific analysis,
persistence, and patience.
Tell us what your favorite quote or mantra is.
Aim to find the positive in the negative.