From Masters to Industry - one IBioIC MSc graduate's journey

Stephanie Young was an IBioIC MSc student in 2015.

I gained my masters degree in Industrial Biotechnology in 2015 from the then newly formed IBioIC. This was an eye-opening experience into the industry and gave me the opportunity to undertake an industrial placement at an SME in Edinburgh called Advanced Microwave Technologies where I investigated the use of their novel heating technology to extract antioxidants from waste apple pomace from the juicing industry. Through this project and having chats with other members of the team, I got a broader understanding of how technologies emerging from the biotech industry can help to address larger scale issues across different industries.

I started my career as a USP research scientist at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies in 2016 working in the microbial fermentation department. Although I joined the company with no practical fermentation experience, there was a strong culture that supported technical and personal growth and I was surrounded by a wealth of knowledge on the industry from my colleagues which really motivated me to continue learning and take on any opportunity for development. In my job role I was able to gain experience in the development and scale up of microbial fermentation processes, from using 250 mL microbioreactors to 100 L STR’s, optimisation of primary separations, transfer of processes to manufacture and hands on GMP experience. With the support of my line manager and head of department I was given opportunities to take on responsibilities above my grade to gain experience on being USP lead on customer projects which helped me to progress in my role to senior research scientist which felt like a massive accomplishment so far in my career.

I left Fujifilm in late 2019 to join the development team at 3F Bio, who are developing a fermentation process for the production of mycoprotein, a sustainable protein ingredient. The motivation behind the development and commercialisation of this process is to tackle the sustainability issues associated with conventional protein farming and feeding a growing population.

3F Bio has carried out extensive research and development into the mycoprotein fermentation process and is at a very exciting stage of setting up a 300 L piloting scale facility in Glasgow whilst at the same time designing the build of the 150, 000 L commercial scale plant.

Moving from a large company to an SME, and from pharma to food, has been a real learning curve for me. For as many situations that I have been able to draw on my previous experience and apply to my new role, there have been as many situations where I am faced with completely new concepts. My colleagues at 3F who know the process like the back of their hand have been great in helping me fill the gaps and developing my knowledge in fungal fermentations. With the fast moving pace of the company and upcoming piloting activities, this has been an exciting time to join the company and I look forward to what is in store.

https://www.strath.ac.uk/courses/postgraduatetaught/industrialbiotechnology/