Britany's research
Identifying new ways to reduce illness in animal agriculture and combat global antimicrobial resistance
As a biotechnologist, I am passionate about my research because it has the potential to solve real-world issues affecting us today. My project focuses on new ways of controlling microorganisms that cause intestinal diseases in pigs.
In the food animal industry, the use of antibiotics is common practice. Widespread use of antibiotics has produced microorganisms that are now resistant to this treatment. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are serious concerns for the public, health specialists and food animal producers alike.
Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) offer a potential solution. Most AMPs kill bacteria by disrupting their cell membranes, which may prevent them from developing resistance. If found to be viable, the use of AMPs in animal agriculture would reduce our reliance on antibiotics and alleviate growing global food security concerns.
I gained my BSc Biotechnology at Nottingham. After graduating, I spent two years completing a PGCE to teach science at secondary school. Despite loving the classroom environment, I really wanted to explore scientific knowledge at the highest level. I thought a PhD would be the best way to do this!
As a biotechnologist, I am passionate about my research because it has the potential to solve real-world issues affecting us today.
The lab rotations at the start of your training are an exciting and enlightening part of the programme. I went into the experience eager to learn from everyone and felt welcome in all of my rotations – colleagues and supervisors are genuinely happy to help you with anything. Now that I am working on my PhD project, I have weekly meetings with all my supervisors where we discuss results and how to move forward. I have also benefited hugely from the continued support of experienced postdoctoral researchers and other PhD students in my research group.
The annual conferences are one of the best things about completing your PhD here. External speakers and industry leaders come and present on their research, and students on the doctoral training programme have the opportunity to showcase all of the hard work they've been doing. Not only do you get to share your own ideas, but you gain new inspiration and insights from others.
The lab rotations at the start of your training are an exciting and enlightening part of the programme.
After I finish my PhD, I'd like to explore intellectual property – specifically patent law or the commercialisation of research in the technology transfer sector. The inspiration for this came from the YES competition I took part in. YES is a global competition developed to raise awareness among postgraduate students and postdoctoral researchers of how ideas from science and engineering can be commercialised. I received funding from my doctoral training programme to enter. I hope to organise my three-month professional placement in intellectual property or technology transfer to give me a head start. One of the best things about completing your PhD on a doctoral training programme is that it prepares your for many different careers, not just those in academia.