Raphaela Kitson-Pantano is a Graduate Student at the University of Edinburgh. She was born and bred in Paris, but decided to study genetics in Edinburgh after taking her baccalaureate. She graduated in 2004 and remained in Edinburgh to do her PhD with Profs Jarman and Finnegan, studying the SIX family of homeodomain transcription factors and their role in muscle development in Drosophila.

Raphaela is the graduate student representative on the committee of the British Society for Developmental Biology.

"Students should get more involved with societies like the BSDB - it has lots of advantages - including travel grants for attending conferences and networking opportunities"

Why did you decide to come to Edinburgh to study?

Originally it seemed like a good idea to come to study genetics in the place where Dolly the sheep was created. I was also offered a place to study medicine in France, but when I came to visit Edinburgh University, it really seemed like the place to be. The education system is wonderful here – and very different from France.