Talking Techniques

In this episode, I speak to Michelle Itano, Director of the Neuroscience Center Microscopy Core at UNC-Chapel Hill and recent addition to the BioTechniques Editorial Board, about her work at the core. Michelle outlines how she has modified the core to make it possible for imaging research to continue throughout the pandemic, using a combination of specialist users and remote working techniques. Michelle provides her key learnings, from this process and last 7months, in keeping the core and her labs COVID-secure.

We discuss some of the projects that have been able to continue throughout the pandemic and the recent successes of an autism trial, which provides key information on the behavioral effects, diagnosis prediction of the condition. Michell also informs me of the work the core has been involved in that directly address COVID-19, using resonance scanning to examine epithelial organoids and cell models, elucidating the utility of resonance scanning in the study of 3D structures.

Episode image created by Damaris Lorenzo of the Lorenzo Lab at the UNC Microscopy Core

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In this episode I address the 'reproducibility crisis'. The concerning trend in the life sciences in which published papers and established principals are unable to be repeated by other researchers and, at times, even by the researchers who provided the initial results.

To do this I speak to two researchers driving forward reproducibility in the life sciences, Marc Raphael from the United States Naval Research Laboratory, and Elizabeth Iorns, CEO of Science Exchange. Marc discusses his recent trial of independent verification and validation (IV&V) labs in a live science setting, highlighting the lessons learned from the experience and exploring the differences observed in attitudes and approaches to reproducibility between the life sciences and engineering, where mark began his career.

Elizabeth discusses her work with Science Exchange and the reproducibility project: cancer biology. Elizabeth notes the key themes that have been exposed by the reproducibility project that are holding back the resolution of the crisis and explains what she thinks has worked so far in improving reproducibility.

This leads to a fascinating discussion between Marc and Elizabeth, comparing and contrasting their experiences and noting the different challenges that they face in trying to improve the state of research in the life sciences. In fact, their camaraderie was so strong that interviewing these two was a real treat and for lots of it, it was much better for me to sit back and watch as they debated a topic that they are both clearly very passionate about!

I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed recording this episode!

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I speak to Geoffrey Siwo about CRISPR and the challenges facing its development into a technique that can be applied equitably across the globe. Geoffrey talks about the importance of seizing the opportunity to influence the progress of the embryonic gene-editing technology for the better, before the data bias in genomic data and the disparity in researchers working on the technique leads to ingrained differences in the success of the application in different populations. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this development is also exposed.

We also discuss Geoffrey's work, using CISPR in antiviral research to as a way of identifying small molecules capable of inducing broad-spectrum antiviral responses, with the potential to combat SARS-CoV-2.

Tune in to find out how Geoffrey believes we can develop CRISPR to be a truly equitable technology and to hear just how hopeful he is for the future of the technique.

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Talking Techniques, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to three scientists each involved in the research landscape in Africa. The episode explores the challenges faced by researchers in Africa, both internally and from the rest of the scientific community. These include issues such as 'helicopter research' or 'research tourism', educating politicians on the importance of basic research and ensuring African researchers are represented at the forefront of life science research.

Firstly Laura Boykin, CEO of the Cassava Virus Action Project, discusses the role of foreign researchers in Africa and how, too often, this role becomes unethical and unhelpful. Delving into the many vices of helicopter research and the practice's many negative consequences Laura lays out some clear examples of helicopter research and outlines some of the ways we can begin to address the issue.

Nathasia Muwanigwa, Founder of the site Visibility STEM Africa, speaks about the experience of being an African researcher in Europe and the need to amplify the voices of African researchers. Nathasia also talks about the perception of African research around the world and the issues that researchers face in getting cited and published in high impact journals.

Providing the perspective of researchers and scientists in Africa Aminu Yakubu, the Vice President of Research Planning and Ethics at 54gene, discusses the gap in genomic data from Africa and its impact in the development of medicines. He also explores the need to establish an equitable playing field for African scientists and the importance of improving the regulation of genetics research on the continent.

Contents:

Laura Boykin: 00:00-16:50

Nathasia Muwanigwa: 16:50-35:30

Aminu Yakubu: 35:30-50:45

The greatest challenge for research in Africa: 50:45-64:42

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part 2 of this series on the role of Big data in the response to COVID-19, I speak to Amitava Banerjee, Associate Professor in Clinical Data Science at the Institute of Health Informatics at University College London. Ami outlines the "OurRisk.CoV Calculator", designed to inform people of the threat that COVID-19 poses to them as a result of any existing conditions and factors such as age and gender, explaining the inspiration behind it and how he sourced and processed all the data required to do so. We also discuss the modeling study from that Ami and his team that was reviewed at the meeting of the UK's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies in March – indicating that deaths from COVID-19 could reach 250,000 if the strategy of pursuing herd immunity had continued – just days before the UK decided to lockdown.

Contents:

• Introduction to the OurRisk.CoV calculator - 1min 15sec
• Data sets used for the calculator - 4min
• Reception of the calculator - 4min 40sec
• Changing the conversation around COVID-19 and impacting policy - 7min 45sec
• Analysis and challenges of working with large data sets - 12min 20sec
• Best practice tips for working with big data - 17min 15sec
• How can we make the most of the data available? - 20 min
• Governments "following the science" - 22min 45sec

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first of two episodes on the role of big data in fighting COVID-19, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to Guy Cochrane, Team Leader of Data Coordination and Archiving at the European Nucleotide Archive (Cambridge, UK). We discuss the challenges and importance of compiling and presenting the huge amount of data created regarding COVID-19 and explore how to make the most out of the data platforms available, such as Guy’s European COVID-19 data platform.

Contents:

• Introducing the European COVID-19 data platform- 1min 35sec
• Challenges of compiling data- 5 mins
• How can researchers make their data collaborative- 8min 15sec
• Demographic representation on the platform- 10min 40sec
• Optimizing big data platforms- 12min 10sec
• The long term impact of COVID-19 on the use of Big Data- 15min 30sec

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special AACR episode, Digital Editor Tristan Free speaks to David Weiner, Director of the Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center at the Wistar Institute (PA, USA), about synthetic DNA and DNA vaccines. They discuss the exciting potential of DNA vaccines in the world of cancer research and delve into Weiner’s study, currently in human trial stages, to develop a DNA vaccine for COVID-19.

Contents:

• Synthetic DNA and DNA vaccines- 50sec
• A brief history of DNA vaccines- 1min 40sec
• Key steps in DNA vaccine design- 3min 30sec
• Targeting head and neck cancers- 5min 5sec
• Advantages and challenges of DNA vaccines- 7min 10sec
• Lessons from previous coronaviruses- 10min 25sec
• Current status of COVID-19 DNA vaccine- 14min 26sec
• The speed of COVID-19 science-16min 24sec
• DNA Vaccines in the next 5 years- 18min 55sec

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, I speak to Neill Lane Chief Strategy Officer at Stirling Ultracold and Board member of My Green Lab. Neill explains how his low emission ultracold freezers have changed the industry and made a huge impact on sustainability in laboratories. We also discuss the good work he sees being done by My Green Lab and other institutions to improve sustainability, the gaps that he sees in energy efficiency in the lab and the small behaviors that we can change to make big differences in the environmental impact of your lab.

You can find the episode mentioned: The Sustainable Lab, over on BioTechniques.com in the podcast section of our website.

Contents:

• Negative contributions from research labs to the environment – 1min 30sec
• Reduce the impact of R&D and research labs? – 2min 25sec
• The importance of freezer efficiency – 4min 45sec
• Exciting developments from My Green Lab – 7min 5sec
• Techniques for reducing waste – 9min 45sec
• Single-use plastics vs glass wear – 11min 35sec
• Institutions worthy of particular praise – 13min 40sec
• Energy efficiency and the Stirling Cycle – 14min 40sec
• Further gaps in energy efficiency and changing behaviors in labs- 18min 30sec

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, produced in association with Phoseon Technology, BioTechniques Digital Editor Tristan Free, speaks to Application Scientist Theresa Thompson and Strategy Director Jay Pasquantonio (both Phoseon Technology, OR, USA) about their UV LEDs and their disinfection abilities. We cover the best wavelengths for disrupting nucleotides and proteins, the challenges associated with some of these wavelengths, and the promising potential of UV LEDs to disinfect inorganic surfaces of SARS-CoV-2. Theresa and Jay also detail the safety procedures required while using this technology and deliver a clear warning against the irradiation of organic matter with UV LEDs.

For more information on the effect of UV LEDs on SARS-CoV-2, check out this page from Phoseon Technology: Can UV LEDs Kill the Novel Coronavirus? Frequently Asked Questions

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

BioTechniques Digital Editor, Tristan Free, speaks to Rob Vries, CEO of Hubrecht Organoid Technology otherwise known as the HUB. We explore the HUB's use of organoids for drug development and further study and improve the clinical treatments of diseases such as cystic fibrosis. After an analysis of the advantages of organoids over 2D cell cultures and animal models, we dive into how HUB's organoids are being used to investigate COVID-19

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The Talking Techniques podcast is hosted and produced by Tristan Free for BioTechniques. We would love to here more from our listeners about your opinions on the podcast, what you would like to hear more of and what you think we could do better!

Please get in contact on any of the platforms below.

Twitter: @TristanFreefsg

Email: [email protected]

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.