Charlotte Bilsby
PIPS Host Organisation: National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Thailand
Project Title: Development of Novel Microalgal-Based Systems for Shrimp Disease Control in South East Asia

During her time at CENTEXT Shrimp, a division of the National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC), Charlotte Bilsby had the opportunity to strengthen her knowledge on the development of algal expression systems. This involved designing expression vectors and cloning them for transformation into different algal mutants, undertaking these transformations, and testing their expression capabilities. Additionally, as part of a knowledge exchange, Charlotte trained her host lab in Western Blotting, a process she uses heavily in her UK project. In the last few weeks, she was involved in setting up and designing a challenge trial of other algal vaccines against the White Spot Syndrome Virus in shrimp.

Working in Bangkok, Charlotte was fortunate to be placed at an institute that bridges academia and industry. Here, she gained insight into how a smaller research group fits within a larger industry and envisioned her future in this area of science. She held meetings, developed her own research ideas, and secured an ongoing collaboration with the Saksmerprome research group. Having difficult conversations with higher-ranked academics and industrial partners was a new experience for her, and she is proud of her ability to communicate efficiently and negotiate ongoing projects.

Overall, Charlotte’s placement at BIOTEC allowed her to develop both personally and scientifically, and she will forever be grateful for her time in Bangkok.