Institute for Technical Skills and Strategy Knowledge Exchange Placement

Marta Perez-Fernandez, Palaeoecology Technician in the Department of Geography, was successful in obtaining funding from the UK Institute for Technical Skills & Strategy’s Knowledge Exchange Placement programme. The programme supports technical staff to develop specialist skills through a placement at another institution. The funding enabled Marta to spend 5 days at Aberystwyth University learning how to extract DNA from pollen.

Loading samples for extraction under the guidance and supervision of Dr. Niall McKeown.

“Having an experienced mentor guide me through the techniques has proven far more valuable than simply reading protocols and attempting to follow them on my own. I was also able to meet other technicians working on very interesting projects involving pollen and spores (my area of specialisation) DNA, and we had positive discussions about future collaborations. I am now eager to apply what I learned on the placement to my work at RHUL”.

Further information about applying for a Knowledge Exchange Placement can be found at: https://itss.org.uk/knowledge-exchange-placements/