I’ve been a part of the Anderson wet lab team since July 2020, where I support the operation and logistics of our two major projects IBD Response and Open IBD. I work closely with the lab, clinical and operations teams alongside routine sample management and the processing of blood and tissue biopsies. I came from the Tree of Life Programme where I helped establish the laboratory responsible for high-throughput preparation of eukaryotic specimens for multiple lines of sequencing. In the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic I seconded in a long-read sequencing R&D team, developing a multiplexing approach for sequencing large numbers of SARS-Cov-2 samples on PacBio and Oxford Nanopore platforms.
My molecular biology background is based on the natural sciences; for my PhD I looked into the genetic, structural and material properties of spider silk including an analysis of silk genes from the diving bell spider Argyroneta aquatica. I enjoyed engaging with the public in pubs, schools and festival tents, describing spider silk research.
Outside of the lab I fly gliders, play board games and explore the world from the train.
