Austeja Bakulaite
PIPS Host Organisation: King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Thailand
Project Title: Isolation of the VEGF-A Specific Nanobodies

The main objective of Austeja Bakulaite’s placement was to isolate nanobodies specific to VEGF-A. This involved cloning the gene of interest into a plasmid vector, amplifying it through PCR, transforming bacterial cells, and then checking if the transformation was successful. This work was quite different from her PhD project, making it an interesting learning experience.

Austeja learned many new techniques, such as plasmid extraction, transformation of bacterial cells, agarose gel electrophoresis, and FLI-TRAP selection of nanobodies. Additionally, she observed different methods for techniques she was already familiar with, such as western blotting and PCR. Seeing how others performed these techniques was useful, and she plans to implement some changes in her work based on these observations.

Austeja loved working in a foreign academic lab, finding it quite different from working in an academic lab in the UK. Experiencing a different research culture, which she found to be more collaborative, was a valuable experience. Additionally, experiencing a different culture outside of academia contributed significantly to her personal growth.