Working as a Lab Technician

The Pets and People Technician
Tara Hardy

Background
Studied at The University of Leicester – Medical Biochemistry – Graduated 2000
Final year project - Produced a monoclonal antibody against VacA toxin on Helicobacter pylori
From the experience I had at university I knew I wanted to work in a lab.

Grade C Lab Technician University of LeicesterDepartment of Surgery (R. James / S. Swift)
Researched Islet cell isolations and Diabetes.
Handled human tissue and validating protocols including islet isolation and islet proliferation assays.
Part of an on call rota team of six people.
Managed my own project researching MMPs in the pancreas.
Presented at a Diabetes conference in Austria.
Designed an Islet isolation laboratory to a clinical transplantation standard.

Islet isolation procedure

Grade D Laboratory Technician University of LeicesterDepartment of Surgery (R. James)
Production of monoclonal antibodies.
Training BSc and medical students technical assays related to monoclonal antibody production.
Tissue culture, Antibody purification, ELISA production, Western blotting, Immunohistochemistry, Bacterialculture, Toxicity assays an animal research.
Made Leicester University £40000+ in sales of antibodies.
Part of a team that produced an ethical way of monoclonal antibody production.
Produced of a web site to advertise monoclonal antibody production at Leicester University.

Monoclonal antibody production

Laboratory Technician – Waltham Centre For Pet NutritionWaltham on the Wolds, Melton Mowbray

Laboratory Technician – Waltham Centre For Pet Nutrition
Part of Masterfoods (Mars Brand).
Employ approximately 300 people.
Worked in three laboratories, Biochemistry, Tissue culture and Microbiology.
Developed assays including the Nitric oxide, cGMP, cortisol and DHEA assays.
Haematology analysis, blood gas analysis, radioactive work.
Cell proliferation assays, endothelial cell, fibroblast, hepatocyte, and preadipocyte isolation all done in a class 2 contamination laboratory.
FISH with DNA and PNA probes.

FISH Technique
Cy3 image
Overlap of DAPI and Cy3 images

Study Scientist- Waltham Pet centre
Designed the trials in this area taking into account ethical requirements.
Write protocols for each trial; collate results, data analysis.
Liase with all the different teams working at the pet centre.
Deal with problems arising and make contingency plans for such occasions
Delegation of work and motivating others.
Design new ethical techniques to be used in animal oral health in the future.
Communication of results in the form of reports, posters and presentations.

Animal holdings

Laboratory Scientist – Waltham Pet Centre
Wrote protocols and reports for each trial; collate results, data analysis.
Liasedwith all the research teams.
Dealt with problems arising and make contingency plans for such occasions.
Managed/organised five technicians in the microbiology team. Delegated work.
Presented at Mars Conferences.

The Comet Assay
To assess DNA damage caused to cells by day to day living. The amount of damage can be seen in the extent of the ‘comet’ or tail in the picture

Grade 6 Lab Technician – University of Leicester - Biochemistry
Manage the light microscope facilities within the department, responsible for the flow cytometer and Typhoon scanner.
Research project (Nek2 substrate – CNap1)
Laboratory safety officer and first aider.
Supervisor in the Biochemistry teaching program.
Being deputy Project License Holder for the Xenopus studies and having responsibility for the mice studies adding mice to my HO Personal License.

Microscopy facilities at Leicester
1. Henry Wellcome Facility
4x Nikon epifluorescence microscopes
Leica TCS SP5 confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM)
Eppendorf microinjection facility
2. Adrian Facility
Olympus FV1000 CLSM
Olympus Cell^R/Scan^R Screening Station
Olympus Cytological imaging system
3. MSB Facility
Zeiss MP7 Multiphoton CLSM
Nikon TIRF microscope
Olympus LV200 Bioluminescence imaging system
4. RKCSB Facility
Nikon C1Si CLSM

3D reconstructions, maximum intensity projections and z-axis projections
Create
z-series
Max intensity projection of 9.5 day old mouse embryo stained for blood vessel network
Critchley/Monkley/Spence /Straatman
3D reconstruction of centrosome
Prosser/Fry

Immunofluorescence microscopy of fixed cells: observing subcellular localization
Centrosomes/Microtubules/DNA

Nature Cell Biology
Components of the Hippo pathway cooperate with Nek2 kinase to regulate centrosome disjunction-pp1166 – 1176
Balca R. Mardin, Cornelia Lange, Joanne E. Baxter, Tara Hardy, Sebastian R. Scholz, Andrew M. Fry & ElmarSchiebel
The Nek2 kinase directs the separation of duplicated centrosomes. Now the Hippo pathway components hSav1 and Mst2 are shown to regulate the function of Nek2 at the centrosome. This pathway cooperates with the kinesin Eg5 to mediate centrosome separation.

Tips for becoming a Technician
Get to know academics with in the university.
Make a good impression in your final year.
Look for a technical role you are interested in.
Be a social person.
Be enthusiastic about laboratory work.
Want variation in your work.
Enjoy Science!

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Working as a Lab Technician

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