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Interview with Laura Aitken, PhD
In 2018, an 18 trillion-dollar-bill will be paid to treat dementia and Alzheimer’s disease worldwide. It is a condition that will concern us all, either as a patient, as a relative or as one of the few and relatively lucky ones who will only have to pay that bill.
About 20 years ago, the Director of Research of my department, Prof Frank Gunn-Moore, discovered a protein, which he suspected was involved in the deterioration of the brain that causes dementia. In order to further investigate the potential for this protein as a drug target, we needed compounds to perturbate its action. My task was to develop an assay suitable for screening.
October 2017
Thanks to the local funding from the Scottish Universities Life Science Alliance (SULSA), I could spend three–four weeks at the European Lead Factory Screening Centre in Newhouse. There, I could work in an industry-like setting to upgrade my assay to the ELF standard. Combining my knowledge of the protein with the ELF expertise and robotics enabled us to optimise the assay really quickly. For a postdoc like me, it was truly a unique experience. I’d recommend to anyone in academia to go for it and take advantage of the opportunity!
