Joshua Patrick Byrne

PIPs Host Organisation: Singer Instruments

PIPs project title: Testing the plate-reading capacity of a bacterial colony imaging system

For his PIPs project, Joshua was involved in testing the capacity of one of his host’s proto-types for use as a plate reader. For the project he was trained in fundamental microbiology techniques and how to use the products developed by Singer Instruments. Joshua designed experiments to test the parameters of the prototype against current instruments on the market. In addition, as part of a small company he was given the opportunity to carry out work in collaboration with other departments within the company for product demonstrations and product quality testing. The main experience Joshua gained doing this work was how to apply his research skills within an industrial context and how to approach product-led research. Within a small company, Joshua had the added benefit of seeing all the different components of the company collaborate together and he was able to develop these collaborative skills as part of his own project. This experience really helped Joshua gain more perspective on how the skills he has gained during his PhD can be applied in contexts that he hadn’t previously considered as part of his future career. Joshua was fortunate to have an extremely supportive management team within the research department at Singer. This helped expose him to many helpful training experiences while he was an intern. Further, it was extremely validating not only to be treated as a valued member of the research team but also to see Joshua’s contributions lead to tangible results in determining the products that the company chose to invest in. Overall, this is an experience that will be a significant influence in how Joshua approaches his future career.

Singer Instruments provided some wonderful feedback about the placement, noting that “Joshua was tasked with a really tough question, which was a technically challenging project right out of the gate. He had to quickly get up to speed with where his predecessor left off, get all the tools working, and figure out exactly how to define ‘good enough.'”. They were impressed with how Joshua approached the challenge, emphasising his “trademark enthusiasm and optimism”. Even when faced with some frustrating hurdles, they noted that “Josh managed to completely crack it”. “Thanks to his hard work, we now know that in many ways, Silhouette can function like a plate reader, which is awesome news for us. Beyond the technical wins, Josh is just a real character and an absolute pleasure to work with. He’s shown himself to be a fantastic team player, especially by stepping up to help his teammates”.