Celebrating International Women’s Day at York Biotech Campus

 

This International Women’s Day, we’re celebrating the diverse talent across campus by bringing together the voices of two women whose roles reflect the breadth of expertise within our community: Kat Burn, Healthcare Scientist and Laboratory Safety Officer at UKHSA, and Holly Steel, Marketing Executive at Fera.

What is your current role, what inspired you to pursue this career and how did you get to where you are today?

Kat:
“My role is Healthcare Scientist – Laboratory Safety Officer, though it doesn’t quite capture that my real specialty is microbiology and bacteriology! Our lab is one of three UKHSA Food, Water and Environmental Microbiology Labs, working with local authorities, the Food Standards Agency and NHS partners to screen samples for hygiene indicators and pathogens like Salmonella, Listeria and Legionella.

I actually fell into microbiology by accident; I hated it at university! I took a temporary agency job thinking it would fill a gap before I found something else, but 17 years, two lab moves and six promotions later, it turns out I absolutely love it. Knowing our lab supported more than 200 outbreaks and incidents in 2024 and carried out around 257,000 tests makes me incredibly proud of the difference we make, and I’m very glad I fell into microbiology.”

Holly:
“I’m a Marketing Executive at Fera, working across digital marketing, content, social media and events to help communicate the science happening across the organisation.

I started out through a degree marketing apprenticeship, which gave me hands‑on experience from day one. Learning on the job helped me quickly understand what I enjoyed, build confidence and grow into a role where I now work across entire projects, doing everything from planning and content creation to social media management and analysing campaign performance.”

 

What has been your biggest career achievement so far?

Kat:
“One of my proudest achievements is qualifying as a Food Examiner, which is a legally recognised title held by only 18 people in the UKHSA network! It’s a role I once saw as completely out of reach, so achieving it means a lot.

“I’m also really proud to have helped develop and roll out a national training system for the entire Food Water and Environmental laboratories (FWE) lab network. This included creating operating procedures, writing induction materials, designing competence assessments and setting up an electronic training tracker. It might sound a bit nerdy, but it plays a big role in supporting our UKAS accreditation and helping teams develop, which makes it feel incredibly worthwhile.”

Holly:
“I’m proud of the digital and social campaigns I’ve delivered, especially those that have strengthened Fera’s presence on LinkedIn. Seeing engagement grow because of the work I’ve done feels really rewarding.

One highlight from my apprenticeship was developing a LinkedIn workshop to help colleagues build their presence online. It’s still being used four years later, which makes me feel like I created something that genuinely added long‑term value.”

 

This year’s International Women’s Day theme is #GiveToGain. What’s the most valuable piece of knowledge someone has ‘given’ you that you now pass on to others?

Kat:
“The best advice I’ve been given is: ‘What other people think of you is none of your business.’ As someone who worries by nature, this has helped me focus only on feedback that’s actually given to me, rather than imagined. It’s made a huge difference both at work and in life.”

Holly:
“I often share two pieces of advice I learned early on, especially with new apprentices: you don’t need to know everything to make a start – confidence comes from giving things a go; and stay curious and keep asking questions, as that’s how you grow.”

 

Kat and Holly represent just two of the many women making a positive impact at York Biotech Campus across science, safety, operations, communications and beyond. Their experiences show that career paths aren’t always linear, that learning continues at every stage, and that passion can emerge in unexpected places.

This International Women’s Day, we’re proud to celebrate the contributions of women across our campus who are driving innovation, excelling in their fields and inspiring future generations.