Industrial internship at Immagina Biotechnology - Anna Blundell

In the second year of my PhD, I undertook a 3-month placement at Immagina Biotechnology, supported by the DiMeN flexible funding supplement. Immagina is a small company based in Trento, Italy known as the “ribosome company” which specialises in creating innovative sequencing technologies to accelerate research on translation. I worked in the Innovation and R&D team on a project aiming to identify novel tRNA-binding proteins (t-RBPs) whose interactions are governed by tRNA modification. The goal of this project was to generate a of map of tRNA-protein interactions and understand their influence on translation. I was responsible for optimising the method to capture t-RBPs following UV crosslinking.

This project presented several technical challenges, however I enjoyed the opportunity to strengthen my troubleshooting and critical thinking skills. I proposed new ideas and experimental strategies to help identify potential causes of the issues and actively contributed to discussions in team meetings to refine the protocol and guide next steps for the team. The placement also gave me insight into the process of commercialisation of new technologies and well as gain a more in-depth understanding of technologies and tools developed by Immagina to study different stages of translation for example, nano tRNA sequencing to identify tRNA modifications.

My PhD focuses on understanding the role of ribosome-associated lncRNA in the context of neuroblastoma. The work at Immagina has complemented my PhD as I have gained a deeper understanding of the technologies available to study the field of translation and a greater understanding of the literature in RNA biology. It also provided me with insight into working in for a small company in industry which has helped inform my career decisions post-PhD and expand upon my professional network.

Before the placement, I had no exposure to industrial research environments, but working at Immagina helped me realise how much I enjoy applied, goal-driven research. Additionally, this experience has helped me develop skills invaluable for enhancing my future employability, such as effective teamwork.

Overall, I’m very grateful to Immagina and the DiMeN Flexible Funding Supplement for making this opportunity possible. It was important for me to explore the industrial side of research during my PhD, and I would strongly encourage other DiMeN students to consider doing the same, as it was an incredibly valuable experience.