Harry Persaud, a second-year Biochemistry BSc Honours student, has been awarded a studentship funded by the Biochemical Society, to build on his findings gained from Dr Linda Percy’s Antibiotics Under the Sea dry lab summer project of last year.
During the summer of 2021, Dr Linda Percy ran the undergraduate bioinformatics research programme, Antibiotics Under the Sea. Students were given DNA sequences from a variety of unidentified marine organisms to classify the species and screen the genomes to identify organisms that might produce interesting compounds such as molecules with antimicrobial properties. The search for new antimicrobial compounds is an area of intense interest now that antibiotic resistance has been recognised as a serious threat to public health.
Harry was keen to follow up his findings from Antibiotics Under the Sea. His current lab-based experiments involve culturing marine organisms to understand their biology, using chemistry-based methods to isolate any antimicrobial compounds, and testing them to evaluate their effectiveness against various species of bacteria.
A research experience is a valuable addition to a CV and can be considered essential when applying for postgraduate degrees. The School of Life Sciences offers University of Westminster students the opportunity to gain experience through participation in University-run and learned society-funded schemes.
Dr Beth Sawyer, Harry’s supervisor in this project, said: “From a supervisor’s perspective, this scheme has brought two great benefits: opening up new collaborations within the School of Life Sciences; and knowing that I am making a difference to a student’s future employability or educational opportunities, which is what we’re all here for.”
The Biochemical Society sets aside as much funding as it can for its annual Summer Vacation Studentship Scheme, which has the purpose of providing undergraduate students in biochemistry and related subjects with hands-on experience of laboratory research.
Since the scheme was not run in 2020 and 2021, the 2022 application process was extraordinarily competitive, and Harry will accrue many benefits from the placement including a one-year membership of the Biochemical Society, who also covered the living and research costs. The scheme is also open to overseas and mature students.
Find out more information about the lab-based summer vacation studentships here.
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