Placement year at University
of Sheffield
August 2021 – August 2022
Benjamin Walker

Introduction to placement
• University of Sheffield
• Department of infection, Immunity and Cardiovascular Disease (IICD)
• Bateson Centre
• Elks Lab
• Lab Technician

How I applied
• Started by finding the advertisement on Unihub
• Applied to the job with a CV and cover letter
• Then was given an online interview
• An offer was sent a few weeks later

Bateson Centre
• Found within Firth Court
• One of the world leading Centre for using innovative models
• Main research models used are zebrafish and drosophilae

Elks Lab
• Uses vivo imaging to understand immune response to infections
• One of the main areas is hypoxia signaling during tuberculosis
infection
• The model that the lab uses are zebrafish
• The models are made using mycobacterium marinum

Lab technician
• Looking after 2 labs one is a category 2 lab
• Making sure embryos don’t go past 5 days post fertilization
• Screening fish (I114/PHD3)
• Streaking mycobacterium marinum (cherry/crimson/wasabi)

Additional activity's
• Lab and department meeting
• Cake and science
• Journal club
• Department Research In Progress (DRIP)
• Seminar

Reflection
• Working with animals within a lab setting
• Working in a category 2 lab
• Knowing how a lab functions and how to look after it
• Working with master and PHD students
• Working with academics

Thanks for listening
Thanks for Dr Phil Elks and Amy Lewis
Any Questions?