Where did you go and what did you do?
I undertook my PIPs at the Protein Production Technology Facility at the University of York, under the supervision of Dr Jared Cartwright. During my time there, I worked on the expression and purification of large complexes from a range of eukaryotic host organisms.
In particular, my focus was on exploring Pichia pastoris as a heterologous expression system for complexes that are challenging to purify from their host organisms. Alongside this I worked on the optimisation of growth conditions for the scale-up production of protein complexes from native hosts, as a pre-cursor to large-scale production in bioreactors.
What made you want to do that particular PIPS?
At the time I was considering completing my PIPs, I was undecided on whether to pursue a further career in an academic research environment or not. I wanted to complete a placement that was at the interface of academic research and a possible future direction in an industry setting. The placement at the Protein Production facility was positioned nicely at this interface, with exposure to a partially industry-facing facility that completes scale-up and large-scale processes in an academic context across a wide range of projects. Due to the placement being located in York, I was able to complete the PIPs part-time alongside my studies, which had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This allowed me to gain highly relevant and useful experience without having to pause and restart my PhD project.
What skills have you gained from your PIPS?
Principally, I gained a large range of new practical skills that I had not been exposed to during my studies. In particular, working with a novel heterologous expression system in Pichia pastoris was highly rewarding and will no doubt pay dividends in my future directions. Similarly, exposure to approaches for scale-up and large-scale protein production was completely novel for me, and I developed skills in the precursor stages of these processes. Given the breadth of projects undertaken by the protein production facility I was also exposed to a wide range of practical skills outside of my project remit that were useful in developing my protein biochemistry toolkit.
Alongside the host of practical skills I gained during my PIPs, I found it very useful to be exposed to the organisation and coordination of both the inward- and outward-facing aspects of the protein production facility. Given the wide range of projects and expertise hosted in the facility, I also came to appreciate and develop professional skills in communication across projects, effective conveyance of results and procedures as well as the organisation and confidentiality of data in some cases.
What has been the impact (or likely future impact) of your PIPS?
The largest direct impact of my PIPs was in affirming my choices for future directions following my PhD studies. More generally, the exposure I received to a different working environment, including both practical and professional practices has changed the way I think about and approach certain aspects of my work, which will be useful in my future path.
How would you sum up your PIPS experience?
An enjoyable summative experience that ultimately helped me decide on my future direction, whilst allowing me to develop a host of useful practical and professional skills.
What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?
If you are undecided about your future direction following your studies, completing a PIPs at an interface between the directions you are considering can help in providing experiences that can let you see both sides and make the decisions clearer.