Holly Champney

PIPS Host Organisation: FA Bio

PIPS Project Title: Bioinformatics intern placement

At FA Bio Holly worked as a bioinformatics intern where she completed a variety of data analyses including metagenomics, mass spectrometry and phylogenetic work. The main aim of the internship was to create analysis pipelines for projects where data collection is not yet complete. Holly was also involved in the bioinformatic screening of FA Bio’s fungal strain library to identify candidates with high biostimulant potential. This placement allowed Holly to further develop her coding skills and gave her an insight into what life was like as a bioinformatician. Holly was also lucky enough to visit FA Bio in person where she was able to see how this experience compares to being a wet lab scientist, on site at Rothamsted Research. Here, she learnt how biotech companies function and how research is tailored to create a commercial product. Holly also got lots of tips on how to improve her own productivity in the lab!

FA Bio provided some very positive feedback about Holly during her placement, noting “Holly was an excellent intern who quickly adapted to the fast-paced environment of a start-up. She worked very independently, took ownership of her projects, and consistently showed initiative.” They were very impressed that Holly “independently explored and applied bioinformatics tools to analyse raw metabolomics data, helping to uncover potential modes of action of fungal candidates”. Finally, FA Bio were very positive about Holly’s “ability to learn quickly, solve problems independently, and contribute across multiple projects, which made her a valuable team member.”