From NIAB to Novogene: Ziyue’s placement report

This spring we were lucky enough to get additional funding from UKRI to enable some of our researchers to go on placements to different work environments to learn skills and build relationships. We’ll be sharing report from all of the placements. Here is the first report from Ziyue (Tracy) Zeng, a postdoctoral researcher on the Pseudomonas-Prunus project who visited Novogene in Cambridge.

I am Ziyue (Tracy) Zeng, a Postdoctoral Researcher from the Department of Pathology at NIAB, working on a project investigating the host range of the phytopathogen Pseudomonas syringae. My research project mainly focuses on investigating the diversity, pathogenicity and stability of epiphytic Pseudomonas populations in Prunus spp. over distance, time and environment via large-scale sampling and high throughput-sequencing. A one-week-placement at the sequencing company Novogene UK was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the latest sequencing technologies from an industrial perspective. It was also an excellent chance for me to learn more about the other job options and will undoubtedly be beneficial for my career development.  

Novogene UK is located in the Bio-Innovation Centre in Cambridge. During the placement, I visited several different departments. It was useful to learn about large-scale sample collection, storage, DNA/RNA extraction and sequencing in the wet lab. It was particularly exciting to see the NovoSeq 6000 Sequencing Platform and Novogene Falcon series – fully automated delivery platforms for high-throughput Next Generation Sequencing. In addition, the placement also provided a great opportunity for me to learnt more about sales and account management as well as marketing and business development in the industrial setting. It was great to see how the knowledge and experiences of a scientist could be applied to non-research work.

Overall, my one-week-placement at Novogene UK was both useful and enjoyable. I would like to thank all the people that I met at Novogene UK and Bacterial Plant Diseases Programme and all the funding bodies for this great opportunity.