From Bangkok to London (and Kent)

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A recent visit to the UK by researchers from the National Biopharmaceutical Facility, Bangkok, saw five team members receive valuable training in a variety of techniques required for the production of biopharmaceuticals. Research Assistants Sarawuth, Sarun, Tarin and Thanunthon, and Principal Investigator, Lalintip, travelled to London and Kent for a three week visit in August. Lalintip and Thanunthon completed three weeks of training in glycomic and proteomic analysis at Imperial College with the Haslam and Dell labs. Sarun, Tarin and Sarawuth spent a week with the Mukhopadhyay and Bracewell labs at UCL where they received training in fermentation and bioprocess engineering, before heading to the University of Kent to work with the Robinson and Smales labs on the molecular aspects of biopharmaceutical production in E. coli and CHO cells.

Training and capacity building are key components of our project and the latest visit to the UK by Thai researchers provided a valuable opportunity for the transfer of knowledge and protocols between partners. In addition, such visits afford the team a chance to discuss project progress, challenges and future plans in person, which strengthens the links between partners and accelerates progress towards our common goals.

The researchers from both the UK and Thailand who were involved in this visit really enjoyed the exchange of culture as well as scientific skills. Favourite English foods of our Thai guests included sausage rolls and Cornish pasties, but they were not enamoured with the traditional English breakfast!