BioPOD

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.

In this episode, Rose Doyle talks to BioPOD alumnus and PhD student Eddie Martin. They discuss different ways of visualising protein structures and how sound can help us get more information from protein sequences. In his research, he turns a protein sequence into a short melody. From this melody, it is then possible to “hear out” some distinct features of the protein. Eddie also explains the intricacies of sound design and how to best convey the variations between different amino acids.  

Artwork by Chris Donohoe and editing by Ruby White.

Link to the paper: https://bmcbioinformatics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12859-021-04362-7 

In the second episode of our PhD advice series, Liz talks to Dr Lizzie Wadsworth, who recently finished her PhD at the University of Edinburgh. Looking back on her experience she gives very valuable advice to new and current PhD students about how to address common struggles with a graduate degree. She shares with us how she got started with her PhD, tips on how to have a good relationship with your supervisor, and strategies to deal with mental health issues. We also get to hear about her current work as a teaching fellow and discuss some less well-known career paths in academia.  

In the second episode of our COP26, Chris chats to Dr Annis Richardson about her research on food security. With climate change causing extreme weather, crop growth is getting increasingly difficult, so of course food security is a major topic of research. Annis Richardson works closely with the agricultural department on understanding how plants grow and how much food the plant then produces, so that we can more effectively feed the world. 

In this episode of our COP26 series, Chris talks to Prof. Louise Horsfall, Chair of Sustainable Biotechnology at the University of Edinburgh, about her participation in the COP26 conference in Glasgow. We get to hear about her experience as a scientist hearing the sometimes conflicting ideas of politicians and companies. Prof. Horsfall also talks about how her lab uses engineered microbes to recycle metals from battery waste. 

Resources mentioned: 

Faraday Institution: the UK’s battery research programme https://www.faraday.ac.uk 

In the first episode of our PhD Advice series, Liz (@lizgaberdiel) talks to Rev. Dr. Harriet Harris, the University of Edinburgh Chaplain, about how PhD students can look after themselves through practicing mindfulness with everyday tasks, and overall building healthy habits. We get to learn about services being offered by the Chaplaincy to help support PhD students who may be struggling with mental health, as well as those who wish to find a community. 

Resources mentioned:  

Taming your inner critic and Imposter Syndrome: https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/abundant-academy/compassion-for-our-times/taming-your-inner-critic-and-imposter-syndrome-at
This blog has embedded in it a recording plus links to two other blogs on Imposter Syndrome. 

This podcast series, episode 3, ‘The Joy and Vitality of Not Knowing’, provides a tonic for perfectionism and a corrective to white privilege. 

https://www.ed.ac.uk/chaplaincy/blogs-podcasts-and-reflections/the-chaplaincy-of-joyful-abandon-podcast-series 

In this extra special episode, 5 different PhD students at different stages discuss their own unique PhD journey. We hear from the recent graduate Miguel (@mcueva89) about how his career plans changed during the highs and lows of his experience. Rist discusses how he dealt with getting scooped – and how he experienced fatherhood at the same time. Joan (@JoanCortadaGar) moved with his supervisor from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the midst of his second year and talks about the impact this had on his research. We hear from Lindsay what it was like to have children during her PhD and how working part-time has helped her with that. Finally, Liz (@LizGaberdiel) discusses the benefits and difficulties of moving to a new discipline when starting her PhD. 

 Interviewing and editing by Sam Haynes @youvegotmyname. 

What does algae photosynthesis have to do with solving food insecurity? 

In this episode on crop improvement, @_applechew interviews Liat Adler (@noodlyscientist) to hear how algae can help us improve the photosynthesis efficiency of “land plants”! 

Crop photosynthesis is not exactly perfect. One key enzyme in the mechanism called RuBisCo is slow and gets confused between carbon and oxygen: not what you want from your energy storage mechanism! 

Algae, however, have developed a system to improve both the speed and the accuracy of this process. The @McCormick_Lab is trying to integrate this system into land plants. That way, crops could use sunlight more efficiently, grow faster, and thus produce more food!

Art by @donohoho, intro and editing by @_applechew