Hope Haime
PIPS Host Organisation: GSK
Project Title: Optimisation of ATUM’s Transposase-Mediated, Semi-Targeted Integration Transfection Protocol in Cell Line Development

Hope Haime completed her PIPS placement with GSK, working within the Biopharm Process Research (BPR) department, specifically for the Cell Line Development and Engineering team. The focus was on the development and production of monoclonal antibody cell lines. The wet-lab-based project involved using cell culture systems to optimize ATUM’s transposase-mediated, semi-targeted transfection method. This included testing various transfection parameters of the ATUM method and measuring the cell line production of different monoclonal antibodies. A range of techniques and assessments were employed to measure productivity output, including specific antibody production, product quality, and copy number analysis. Hope successfully completed the optimization project and provided useful data on the optimized transfection conditions, which can be implemented by the Cell Line Development team for their future projects.

Alongside the lab project, Hope attended weekly lab progress meetings, departmental research presentations and discussions, as well as conference-style events and poster project workshops. She also interacted with people from different teams within the department, learning about the project timelines and progress stages that each team contributed to the overall department objectives. It was interesting for her to see how, within industry, there is greater scope for working on a much larger scale, made achievable by access to many different automated machines and techniques that would otherwise be slightly limited within academia.

Having not had any industry experience prior to this PIPS placement, Hope is grateful for the opportunity to work at GSK, a world-leading industry hub. She is also thankful to her GSK supervisors, Dr. Holly Corrigall and Dr. Stephen Bevan, for all their help and support. Hope has gained invaluable networking contacts through working with GSK, which will be beneficial for future potential collaborations and career aspirations.