Whiterose

Joanna went to CN-Bio Innovations in Cambridge for her PIPS placement, a bioengineering company that specialises in developing single and multi-organ microphysiological systems and innovative lab technologies. They interact with many different pharma and biotech companies to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of preclinical drug testing with clinically translatable systems.

The featured image is the logo of CN-Bio Innovations.

What did you do?

I worked with the research and development team to try and introduce and integrate immune cells into their established organ on chip systems. A couple of previous preliminary experiments had been done, but my main role was to get this project up and running and generate a core dataset to understand how it can be introduced into other systems. I also participated in team meetings, journal clubs, Toastmaster and wrote a research proposal for the CEO to outline the plan for the project and future applications of my findings.

What made you want to do that particular placement?

I was keen to explore what research outside of academia looked like and see first-hand how a relatively small biotech company worked.  The research that they are doing was also very different from anything I had done before and offered me the opportunity to apply my immunology background in a very different scenario – with a more application-based outlook.

How did you go about finding and planning your PIPS?

I did quite a lot of searching for biotech companies around areas where I had friends and family so I could have a chance to live in a different location for 3 months.  Through family and friends links I heard about CN-Bio and emailed them to introduce myself.  I then had quite an informal phone conversation/interview to find out more about the company and talk about what a placement might look like.  It kind of just went from there with just a few more emails to finalise details and agree dates (~6months from the initial phone call).

What have you gained from doing your PIPS?

I have really appreciated being able to talk to so many of the different employees from different areas of the company (CEO and management, engineers, marketing, production and R&D) to learn about all the different roles and how they have come to be working for CN-Bio. I have gained confidence in my communication skills, presenting to different audiences and collaborating with many different people. It has also been good, but quite challenging, to be starting a new project from almost nothing and doing a lot of the initial proof of concept work, set-up, background research and problem solving.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

It has been a really good chance to try a very different area of research with very different end goals and targets compared with my PhD. I have learnt a lot about the workings of a company and really appreciated the healthy work life balance they encouraged.

What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?

Start looking early and be willing to try something out of your comfort zone/completely new. Use any connections that you may have from friends and family to help you find your placements. Talk to as many people as you can wherever you are and find out about their career path/what they do.

Where did you go and what did you do?

Phase BioLabs at The University of Nottingham – working in the Biodiscovery Institute in Prof Nigel Minton’s large and extremely well-equipped synthetic biology lab. My PIPS supervisor and boss was David Ortega, an ex-PhD student of Nigel’s and the founder of a recent start-up called Phase BioLabs – https://www.phasebiolabs.com/

The featured photo at the top of this article is the view from the Biodiscovery Building at The University of Nottingham.

David wants to produce solvents, plastic precursors and other high-value commodities from anaerobic bacteria using waste CO₂ and renewable hydrogen as the only two feedstock gases. If performed at scale, this technology could be carbon neutral and make use of vast quantities of waste CO₂ from the fermentation industry.

I undertook a mixture of lab work and online research. The lab work was split between proof-of-concept work regarding the gas fermentation technology used by Phase Biolabs and engineering new systems into the organism to enhance the range of products the company could manufacture. The online work was mainly market research and research into lifecycle assessments and emissions data for new chemical products, as well as searching for EU funding calls for the company.

What made you want to do that particular placement?

David was the first to respond from five or so renewable or climate change-focused companies to which I enquired. His website was impressive, and his mission statement and his enthusiasm were encouraging, so I was happy to organise a meeting with him over Zoom. He introduced me to the field of anaerobic bacterial research and suggested some papers to read. The project sounded really interesting and there happened to be plenty of non-lab work to go alongside, enabling me to work remotely for the beginning and end of the placement.

How did you go about finding and planning your PIPS?

Keen to find a non-academic enterprise working in climate change or sustainability science, I spent three hours or so gathering information for companies in the UK that had an impressive mission statement. All it took then was several emails explaining my background and offering my help.

Once David was on board, the PIP was delayed due to the ongoing lockdowns. David and I were in frequent communication so finding a suitable three-month period was not too tricky. 

What have you gained from doing your PIPS?

My time at Phase Biolabs was brilliant. I experienced a fleeting but illuminating insight into the world of anaerobic bacteria research and the synthetic biology involved in engineering metabolism, especially towards engineering the production of chemicals from microbes.

I now have a much better understanding of market research as a concept and a practice. Finding out about the market you are aiming to disrupt is far more difficult than I envisioned, with many summaries and reports behind steep paywalls, key figures and references hidden in gigantic reports and relevant organisations unwilling to talk freely over the phone.

From a peek into the world of commercial funding, I now also have a sliver of understanding about work that goes into sourcing money for a start-up like Phase Biolabs.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

A welcome break from my research field. Hard work, but rewarding, interesting and mentally refreshing.

Alina Capatina, a third-year student at the University of York, completed her 3-month placement at Random42, a medical communications company situated in central London, specialised in producing 3D medical animations, documentary films, augmented and virtual reality as well as interactive experiences.  The placement was completed remotely due to the COVID lockdown.

The featured image is a screenshot of Alina with her PIPS colleagues in an online team meeting.   

What did you do?

During my placement I worked as part of the science team at Random42. I was sitting on client calls and taking notes regarding the scientific background of their desired animation, recording their visual and design preferences, as well as keeping track of their timeline and key deadlines. I was also in charge of doing the scientific research for several different projects and putting together scripts, which included both the narration of the animation and the scene directions.

Once the scripts were approved by the client, I would be in charge of designing a storyboard that would visually represent the content of the script, allowing the production team to understand the dynamics of the animation. This was particularly challenging, as scientific accuracy regarding not only the crystal structure of the proteins involved, but also their correct topology (e.g. for membrane proteins), was required.

Additionally, I also had the opportunity to record several voice-overs that would be added to the videos, until the animation was finalised, to help the production team synchronise the text and the visuals.

Overall, the placement allowed me to experiment with a variety of activities, each of them involving a different set of skills. I was thus able to become more flexible and self-confident and I learned to adapt very quickly, not only to different research topics, but also to different tasks, in order to complete my work as quickly and efficiently as possible.

What made you want to do that particular placement?

My current PhD project is entirely lab-based and during my undergraduate degree I completed several lab-based summer internships, in an academic context, as well as a 12-month industrial lab-based placement. Therefore, I do have experience with experimental work, and I love being in the lab, which is why I thought that I should take advantage of the PIPS opportunity in order to experience something that is still related to science but that is completely different from what I have been doing so far. I am also a relatively quiet, introverted, and creative person that does not enjoy the spotlight that much, but prefers working behind the scenes. So, I thought I would look for a placement that would allow me to employ and develop my non-lab related skills.

When I discovered Random42, I instantly knew it was the right opportunity for me, it was a chance for me to be creative, play with images and put together stories, while learning more about different scientific topics. I saw a chance to use my scientific background to make information more accessible to the general public in a fun way. The work I have been doing at Random42 taught me to always question (‘What is the final purpose of my research?’, ‘How is it going to impact people?’), as well as reminding me that I should not get caught up in little details, but always try to detach myself and see the bigger picture. It was an extremely valuable experience both on a personal and a professional level.

How did you go about finding and planning your PIPS?

For me, the process of finding my placement was very short and straightforward. I started by looking at the list of places where other WR DTP students have completed their PIPs in previous years, and that is where I found Random42. I spent a few good hours reading about their work on their website, had a look at some of their videos, I even watched a documentary that they contributed to, and I really liked their work. So, I sent an email to them with my CV, expressing my interest in their company. On the same day I got a reply saying that they would be very happy to have me. Just before completing all the paperwork, I also got in touch with the student who completed her PIPS with this company the year before, and she had very good feedback about the work and the people working there. That gave me a lot of confidence about the company, so I decided to go through with the paperwork and in the end it all turned out very well.

What have you gained from doing your PIPS?

I really enjoyed my PIPS, mostly for the fact that it allowed me to experiment with a variety of activities that are very different from my daily lab work. I think one of the most important things that I gained from this placement was more self-confidence. In this placement I was put in a completely new environment with completely new tasks and I had to learn and adapt very quickly, and complete all my work according to specific deadlines, which would often change throughout the day. It was a type of work that required a lot of flexibility and plasticity as well as teamwork and good communication with supervisors and co-workers. The fact that I managed to face this challenge in a way that made my supervisors very happy, and the fact that I felt valued and appreciated for my work, gave me great confidence in my skills and knowledge, and I became more open-minded and braver in terms of my aspirations regarding future career choices.

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

One known fact about our memory is that we tend to forget actions and facts, but we always remember how something, or someone, made us feel. Therefore, if I was to sum up my placement experience in a way that is meaningful to me, I would say: exciting, creative, empowering, and eye-opening.

What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?

I think it is very important to make the most out of every opportunity we have. I m very happy working in the lab right now, but that might change in the future, and I wanted to use this PIPS opportunity to research what else it is out there that I could happily do. I think the best advice would be to try and use the PIPS as a chance to learn more about yourselves, see what else you like, get out of your comfort zone, and just try something different. It is an amazing opportunity to experience because you have nothing to lose, but you might just gain a lot more than you think.

Editor’s Note: You can find information on how to apply to do your PIPS with Random42 here.

Roz Latham is a PhD student at the University of Leeds who did a 3-month remote placement with The Royal Society (RS), who are based in London. The RS is the UK’s National Academy of Science and has diverse functions, from funding and publishing scientific research, to public and educational engagement, to policy advice, among others. Read Roz’s case study below to find out what she got involved in and how she decided to pursue this placement!

What did you do?

I worked in The Royal Society’s Policy function – ‘Policy’ is the principles or course of action that an organisation (often the Government) sets to direct their actions in a particular area. For example, the Government’s science policy will dictate how much money the Government will invest in R&D or how to regulate different scientific technologies, to name a few. The Royal Society acts as one of many policy-advice bodies. This means they conduct research to understand the policy landscape and then write policy briefings/proposals for the Government to help them decide what policy to adopt. Such research includes desk-based research (reading news articles, other organisations’ reports, academic papers) and convening key stakeholders (academic experts, government departments, etc.) to discuss the issues at hand and collaboratively shape the policy for that area. My work was in the Genetic Technologies policy team. This team had two key streams of work and I was actively involved in both.

The majority of my work supported the RS’s policy proposal for how the UK should regulate the products of gene editing and genetic modification post-Brexit, as a follow up to their response to Defra’s consultation on the matter in 2021. I worked closely with my manager to map the policy landscape (i.e. what the UK and other countries currently do), and challenges to implementing the RS’s desired outcome (to regulate GE/GM based on the product not the process used to produce it). I attended meetings with key stakeholders (Defra’s Chief Scientific Advisor Gideon Henderson, leading plant science researchers and others) to listen to the highest-level discussions on the regulatory reforms – it was amazing to get exposure to such senior people across the public and academic sectors and listen to world experts discuss real regulatory challenges and opportunities. I also participated in smaller meetings with academics from Rothampsted Research to get their expert insights into the plant breeding process, and I was encouraged to lead the conversations which was a great opportunity. Alongside this broader work my key deliverables were to write an extended policy report on how the UK could incorporate non-safety considerations (ethics, sustainability, economics etc) into the new GE/GM regulations that will be created post-Brexit. My meetings with stakeholders as well as plenty of desk-based research fed into this, as did continuous feedback and guidance from my manager. I then turned this extended report into a 4 page ‘PostNote’ style policy briefing, intended as an executive summary to make the information accessible to a wider audience who don’t have the time or need to read the whole report (this is a common exercise in the policy world). I also initiated and led a workstream to develop the Royal Society’s support for employees with hidden disabilities, and wrote a briefing on how this could be done. To come away with concrete deliverables was really rewarding and gave focus and direction to my placement.

The other aspect of my work with the gene-tech team was to help organise the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing. I sat in on the monthly summit-planning committee meetings, whose members included multiple Nobel Laureates and other world experts in gene-editing technologies, law, bioethics, clinical medicine and regulations. This gave me incredible exposure to the most high-level discussions from world experts on how to shape the International Summit. My work included minute taking and metrics gathering and analysis.

Overall, my work was diverse, interesting and very rewarding. I can’t recommend a policy placement with the RS more.

What made you want to do that particular placement?

I became aware of Policy as a potential career route from my sister who is a policy advisor in the Civil Service, and after learning more about it from her I thought it could match my skill set and interests well. I saw the UKRI policy internship scheme advertised and I chose The Royal Society as my first-choice host organisation (more details below). I chose the RS because they had a Genetic Technologies team and as I work in gene-editing for my PhD and am very interested in how to regulate gene-tech to maximise societal benefit and minimise harm, this was the perfect fit for me. Also, the RS has a historic and international reputation as one of the world-leading authorities on science policy, and has access to the most important and influential science and policy stakeholders so I knew I would get a lot of exposure and great insights working with them.

How did you go about finding and planning your PIPS?

Having identified Policy as an area I wanted to experience I kept an eye on the WR newsletter for PIPs opportunities.  I saw the UKRI policy internship scheme advertised and went through their application process – most Policy internships available to PGRs are provided through this UKRI policy internship scheme. There are ~30 ‘host organisations’ that you choose from (selecting your first and second choice) and adapt your application to your chosen host organisation, but using the centralised UKRI application portal and deadlines.

Having gone through the application process (CV, answers to questions such as ‘why this host organisation, why policy, describe your PhD in 250 words to a non-science audience’, and writing a 2 page policy briefing on a topic of my choice), I was selected for interview via Zoom. When I was offered the place I was in touch with a member of the RS directly to arrange my start date and delivery of my IT equipment as I worked from home due to the pandemic. Overall, it was a very easy process.

What have you gained from doing your PIPS?

I’ve gained a great taste for policy research (although I recognise policy research at a Learned Society is very different to that working for the Government).  It’s given me a lot of motivation to pursue this as a career, which is what I’d hoped to get out of my PIPs. I’ve had great exposure to influential people, seen first-hand a glimpse how regulations are formed, gained confidence in my abilities outside of anything I’ve ever tried before, developed policy-writing skills and just overall had a really fun time!

How would you sum up your PIPS experience?

I had a really great time on my PIPs. The team at the RS were so friendly, fun, supportive and interesting. I had great mentorship from my manager and had monthly catch-ups with the Chief Science Policy Officer along with other interns, so interns at the RS are really respected and valued. Despite working from home I actually ‘met’ lots of people (as an intern you’re encouraged to network outside of your team and learn what other people at the RS do) so I have come away with some great relationships. I had to be proactive to set myself challenging targets, but because I did I had such a rewarding, stimulating and stretching experience that has given me skills, experience and confidence to take back to my PhD and for the future job hunt.

What advice would you give to other PGRs about PIPS?

I think with every PIPS you get out what you put in. I had to be proactive and push for objectives, set myself stretching targets with the guidance of my manager, and take the initiative to develop workstreams in areas I was passionate about. But the RS is the perfect place to do that as I was given the autonomy and support to do so. If after some research you think you’d be genuinely interested in science policy and want a place that gives you creative freedom to explore different areas, skills and situations then I’d really recommend the RS’s Policy placement.

Other advice is to be proactive at looking for these opportunities: the UKRI policy internship scheme only opens for applications once a year. And the application process is pretty intense (it took me a whole week as I had to write a policy briefing from scratch + other application questions) so check out what the deadlines are and what you need to do before them. Also do your research on the organisation, whether you are inspired by their work and think you’d like to work for them after your PhD. Try and use your network to see if you can get in contact with anyone who’s done a placement with that organisation before (very useful for interview prep).

Overall, be proactive and also be excited at the opportunity to try something new for 3 months and think about whether that could inspire a future career.

Note from the DTP Co-ordinator:

Think you might be interested in a UKRI policy internship? 

The annual application portal for the UKRI policy internships has recently opened for placements to take place in 2022.  The closing date for applications is 4th October 2021.  For more information on the scheme and how to apply, see the PIPS advert on this website – note the information about expenses – and follow the link from there: 

UKRI policy internships for 2022.