BioPOD

In this episode of BioPod’s entrepreneurship series, Keshav and Dr. Wu Huang discuss the journey behind NucBarcoder, a species identification tool hoping to tackle the biodiversity crisis. Wu talks through some of the challenges and rewards of growing a start-up idea and how Edinburgh Innovations from the University of Edinburgh advised and helped throughout the process.

In this episode Anna and Andrea Paterlini talks about the approach to education of genetics and his experience developing a course for 2nd year bachelor students. They discuss diversity and inclusion in science and what remains to be done to be scientifically accurate when it comes to these sensitive topics in education as well as everyday life. Andrea also mentions what he and other scientists did to address the statements of the secretary of state for science (which you can find here ). And if anyone is interested, here is the author that Andrea mentioned https://www.adamrutherford.com/allbooks 

With many PhD students interested in alternative career pathways in science, we are keen to explore and demystify the world of scientific publishing. In this episode, Severina Marija Pociunaite talks to Dr Manuel Breuer, a deputy editor at Springer Nature, about his journey into scientific publishing. In particular, they explore the diversity of the role, how scientific publishing has changed in recent years, and advice for scientists preparing and submitting their manuscripts to improve their chances of acceptance.

In this episode, Haomiao chats with Professor Thorunn Helgason, the head of the School of Biological sciences at Edinburgh University. It’s been a year since Thorunn started her post here in August 2022, let’s meet her and hear how she sees the past academic year in the school, and how she expects the future to happen. And, have you also wondered how was Edinburgh Uni like years ago? Well, Thorunn doesn’t just see the university thriving today, she also witnessed the changes happened since she firstly stepped into Edinburgh Uni as a student. 

We also asked her advice for students and young professionals. So why not grab a tea and sit down with us to talk about the past, present and future about our school and yourself?

In this episode Neelakshi talks to Dr. Sandy Hetherington about the work in plant paleobotany and evolution. They discuss what are plant fossils, how and where they are formed and what they can tell us about plant history today. Sandy focuses on plant root evolution as part of his research and introduces one of the best-preserved plant fossil deposits here in Scotland, called Rhynie chert 

Find out more about Dr. Hetheringtons research here:  https://www.ed.ac.uk/biology/groups/hetherington

With the advancements of RNA synthesis techniques due to the success of the Covid-19 vaccine we are asking what other therapeutic purposes RNA could have. In this episode, Alastair Scott talks to Prof Amy Buck about her somewhat accidental journey to becoming a RNA biologist, her labs current research and her outlook on the field. In particular, they chat about the curious role of RNA as a communicator and signalling molecule.

Find out more about Prof Bucks research here: https://www.bucklab.org/

In this episode, Severina Pociunaite chats to Dr Jo Sadler about how to view plastic as a resource, that can be turned into useful chemicals. Plastic can not only be recycled, but also upcycled: by breaking it down using biotechnology and reusing the carbon to make secondary products. What kind of plastic do microbes like best? And how can the products of digestion be manufactured into something new? 

They also discuss how Dr Sadler went about setting up her own lab, including the unique challenges she faced during the start-up process. 

How did this Edinburgh Professor move from studying physics to starting a Biotechnology spin-out company? In our new episode, we hear from Professor Teuta Pilizota all about how her past research experiences led her to where she is today, how her research keeps leading her to new technological developments and how this culminated in her starting a biotech spin-out company.  

Many researchers spent a significant amount of time cultivating microorganisms, so they reach the desired growth phase and density. But what if that whole process could be automated, monitored and measured? This is where the OGI Bio Bioreactor comes in, to save time and allow specifications of culture conditions. 

Find out more about OGI Bio here: https://ogibio.co.uk/ 

Interview & artwork by Liz Gaberdiel, intro & editing by Ruby White.

Why do you think you are awake right now? You might be aware that your circadian rhythm determines your sleep cycle. But how does your body keep time? Can a cell have a clock? And how can this system survive perturbations?

Gerben van Ooijen and his lab @vanOoijenLab work on finding out some of the cellular mechanisms that are behind the ability of an organism to keep time. They study modified algae that give off light during some phases of the circadian clock, to shine some light on the particularities of time-regulated genes.  We also find out how circadian dysregulation could have an impact in cancer.

In this episode, Apple Chew chats to Professor Gary Loake, a group leader at the Institute of Molecular Plant Sciences at the University of Edinburgh. His group researches the immune responses of plants.

Gary is also the founder and chief scientific officer of the biotech startup Green Bioactives. Since plants can produce immune-related products with sometimes useful properties and up to 25% of pharmaceuticals trace back to plant natural products, his company develops a biomanufacturing platform to efficiently churn out valuable products.

Check out Green Bioactives here: https://www.green-bioactives.com/ 

Where do plant scientists get their plant materials from? How do you best grow a new species? In this episode, Haomiao sits down with Dr Sophie Haupt, the manager of the plant growth facility at the University of Edinburgh. As part of the facility team, she supports research and teaching projects by growing all kind of plants in grow domes, glass houses, and of course outside.  

Sophie is also working on a conservation project on campus, to provide a safe and biodiverse habitat for native wildlife such as hedgehogs to return to campus. As part of this project, they have even planted some berry bushes and have started a little vegetable garden. 

In this episode, Liz Gaberdiel chats to Gerben van Ooijen, postgraduate advisor and Director of the Graduate School at the University of Edinburgh. They discuss the role of postgraduate advisors and how they can help during PhD studies. We hear what situations postgraduate advisors can help with and Gerben gives us some vital advice on how to maintain a productive, healthy and enjoyable PhD journey.  They also discuss his work as the Director of the Graduate Schoo and illustrate the key role he plays in maintaining the high standards of Edinburgh's PhD programmes. 

In this episode Liz Gaberdiel interviews Karen Woodcock and Mairead Rae, the Postgraduate Programme Administrators of ICB, IQB3 and IEB, IIIR, IMPS, respectively, in the School of Biological Science at the University of Edinburgh. They share their experiences working with postgraduate students, what insights they accumulated from that work and share top tips on a successful PhD. They also introduce a wide range of support they can provide and share useful resources for a successful PhD. 

Visit and bookmark Institue of Academic Development website https://www.ed.ac.uk/institute-academic-development  

Get in touch by email with Karen karen.woodcock@ed.ac.uk or Mairead mairead.rae@ed.ac.uk.  

Also, you can now drop by their office at Mary Brück Building from Monday-Thursday and alternate Fridays (at the time of the recording, restrictions on in person meetings were in place). 

Fossil fuels are used everywhere, in our clothing, our medicine, and even our cooking. Wouldn’t it be great if we could use another source to synthesise these necessary molecules. Maybe something that’s very abundant and unwanted, such as waste streams from other processes?  

In this episode, we’re diving into how microorganisms could be useful in synthesising biomaterials. Even better, they can be used to clean up waste products and turn them into something useful. Severina Pociunaite sits down with Dr Stephen Wallace to discuss his work and his goals for a sustainable future. 

Check out some of the research mentioned by Stephen here: https://wallacelab.bio.ed.ac.uk/publications-1 

And keep an eye out for his TED Talk from this year’s TEDxVienna. 

Right on the heels of the 2022 World Antimicrobial Awareness Week, this episode covers a broad overview of the key topics associated with antimicrobial resistance. Rose Doyle from BioPOD teamed up with Carys Redman-White from the new Edinburgh antimicrobial resistance podcast EdiAMR to chat to Dr Brian Wee about his work. We hear his thoughts on the best tools and tactics to combat the rise of antibiotic resistance as well as a deep dive into one decade-long research project about the spread of antibiotic resistance in Kenya. Art by Annis Newman, intro and editing by Severina Pociunaite.

If you want to learn more about Brian’s work on whole genome sequencing across Nairobi, check out his paper here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41564-022-01079-y 

This episode is a collaboration between BioPOD and the University of Edinburgh's new antimicrobial resistance podcast, EdiAMR. If you’re interested to find out more about AMR, follow @EdiAMR on twitter for updates! 

In this very special episode, we hear from Dev, Charity, and Diana, who are part of a team competing in this years’ iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) competition. Students from the University of Edinburgh and from the University of Health and Allied Services in Ghana joined forces to develop synthetic biology projects to solve local problems. The local problem they want to tackle? Heavy metal and plastic pollution in water bodies. Detecting pollution in rural areas can be difficult, so the team was working on a cell-free biosensor that can detect a variety of dangerous metals. To then remediate the problem, they designed a cellulose hydrogel to “mop-up” contaminants in water. Additionally, they address plastic pollution by investigating an enzyme cocktail for biodegradation of PET plastic. We also hear about what they learned during the competition and how they enjoyed being part of an international collaboration. 

iGEM wiki: https://2022.igem.wiki/edinburgh-uhas-ghana/index.html 
IDEC: https://idec.io/index.html

In this episode, Chris Donohoe (@dono_heptane) chats with PhD students Casey Patmore (@paseycatmore) and Georgia Lambert (@GALambert3) about the fascinating world of the behavioural ecology of burying beetles. They discuss how to "keep calm and carrion" when researching beetles, who need carrion to raise their progeny. What factors affect their parenting behaviour and what can it teach us about the complex responses of insects to effectively care for their offspring? 

In this unique episode, Hend and Julie chat with scientists at different career stages and backgrounds about changes that have been happening in Academia over the years. We hear from Prof. Jim Kaufman and Dr Nisha Philip of the Institute of Immunology and Infection Research, and Prof. Loeske Kruuk, and Dr Helen Alexander of the Institute of Ecology and Evolution. How was Academia when these scientists began their careers and how have their lived experiences shaped who they are now as academics? What are their thoughts on the “two-body problem” in Academia? What advice can they give to academics who are also trying to carve their own scientific careers? We hear about their answers to these questions and more.  

Although the qualities of being a scientist are still the same, the world of Academia has changed. Things like collaboration has become more prominent. Working with colleagues across the world has become easier with technology. Awareness for mental health and work environments has also been given considerable focus. On the negative side, the biggest challenges for current academics are job and financial security. Diversity in available careers should be highlighted: not everyone wishes to be a Principal Investigator so training for these alternate career paths should be highlighted. 

In this episode, Rose Doyle  talks to Dr Rosa Santomartino of the UK Centre for Astrobiology about her research that’s “out of this world”. Rosa talks about her journey to become an astrobiologist and what she does as a researcher in  Astromicrobiology: the study of microorganisms and their behaviour in an extra-terrestrial environment. We hear about her work on sending microbes to the International Space Station to mine precious metals from asteroids, the excitement and the difficulties of setting up experiments in space. She then discusses the potential—and current limitations—of sending microbes to space.

In the coda this week, Apple Chew tells us all about cell cultured meat: Why we should care about reducing our meat consumption and what exciting technological advancements are being made by companies trying to help us achieve that. Who knew that you can get already eat cell cultured sushi? 

In this episode, Louis  and Liz chat to Dr Nadanai Laohakunakorn about his journey from a background in physics to now leading a group in synthetic biology. He describes how he adapted his thinking when he changed disciplines, interdisciplinary culture shocks, and how different sciences are taught. We then hear about his current research on building cell-free systems – building a functional cell from the ground up – and how this can be used to synthesise proteins.
How are these systems built, how can they be optimised and how can they be used in manufacturing? Can we eventually make individualised drugs on a bench? Tune in to hear more!

Art by Louis, intro and editing by Hend and Severina.