Dr Holly Fleming

Introduce yourself - who are you and what is your job?

I'm Holly - I use different colours of light to help us see some types of evidence that would otherwise be hard to see.

What do you research, why and how does this help people?

I use lots of colours of light to help detect some types of evidence. This could be anything from fingerprints, fibres from clothes, or chemicals like petrol!

Tell us about your career journey so far

After finishing high school, I went to study chemistry at Edinburgh University. After this, I studied for a PhD in Optical Medical Imaging, where I worked with tiny glass fibres the width of a few strands of hair and attached nanoparticles (very tiny particles!) to the end. This was to help doctors sense inside lungs.

Following my PhD, I worked in St Andrews, using light from a laser to look at different whiskies.

I now work with light to try and find ways to detect trace evidence (very small amounts) like petrol or even fingerprints.

What subjects/qualifications are useful in your role?

Any interest in any of the sciences is helpful! Although chemistry and physics are very useful for my role.