Lab Coats, Bomb Vests and Sundried Tomatoes

Helen Wright

For the final stage of my PhD experimental work I packed up my last samples and headed down to Ludger Ltd in Oxfordshire for some released glycan analysis. I spent 4 days working with the team at Ludger’s main facility on the high-security Culham Campus; on the site of a former military base. The site is also home to several super interesting organisations, including the UK Atomic Energy Authority, hydrogen fuel cell research and an amazing robotic technology firm.

The site boasts excellent subsidised restaurants where you can get a really good lunch – they even do a decent Yorkshire pudding! The highlight of the week was definitely getting to meet the bomb squad lads as they showcased some of the work they do, and provided demonstrations of their currently employed bomb disposal robot. Some amount of dressing up was insisted upon….by me!

A week well spent learning some invaluable new analytical techniques and making some wonderful new contacts at Ludger. I even got to learn some new cookery skills watching Hupela’s latest video recipe being filmed during my visit. Definitely something I will be trying at home!