Under the microscope:
Driving discovery with cutting-edge bioimaging technologies
Supporting the investigation of complex biological problems in research lies at the heart of Dr Saskia Bakker’s role.
A research technical professional managing the Advanced Bioimaging Research Technology Platform (RTP) at The University of Warwick, Saskia collaborates with academics from across the science disciplines and supports them in the use of cutting-edge imaging technologies and microscopy. This includes the operation and maintenance of the electron microscopes, as well as training end users on this equipment.
“As a technical specialist, I help ensure that researchers have access to cutting edge technology. I can help them design experiments, or carry out imaging on their behalf.” explains Saskia.
A career shaped by curiosity
Saskia’s academic career began in 2002 with an undergraduate degree in Pharmacy at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, where she also went on to study an MSc in Drug Innovation.
She explains: “I did a Pharmacy degree, because while I like Chemistry and Biology, there weren’t any clear career pathways or role models in those subjects back then - apart from becoming a teacher, which I really didn’t want to do. My parents were both pharmacists before they retired, so I studied that.”
In 2011, Saskia completed her PhD in Biological Sciences at the University of Leeds. She then joined the University of Glasgow’s Centre for Virus Research, where she worked as a postdoctoral researcher in structural virology.
In addition to advancing her own research, Saskia took on the vital role of training colleagues to master the cutting-edge equipment in the laboratories.
As the end of her contract in Glasgow loomed on the horizon, Saskia chose not to continue with a traditional academic position, and instead wanted to explore a more technical role. She came across a technical manager role in 2016 at The University of Warwick, and is one she finds varied and rewarding.
New opportunities
Her work as a technical manager provides Saskia with ample opportunities to get involved in different academic projects. “There’s always new opportunities and things to get involved with. I teach a little, but don't have a massive teaching load – so it's like an academic job, but better!” she says.
One aspect she finds most rewarding is supporting academics to gain new insights and make new discoveries through the equipment. “I like to see the reaction of people when they view their samples for the first time. For example, bacteriophage never fail to amaze me. They are viruses that infect bacteria, and some have this funny shape with a head and tail. They just look cool, and the idea you’re seeing almost individual protein is mind-blowing.”
She continues: “People often don’t realise what it’ll look like, because a lot of other analysis methods they’ve seen are very flat, such as a line on a graph.”
A group of bacteriophages with geometric heads and two tails
A group of bacteriophages with geometric heads and two tails
Sharing collaboratively
Saskia knows how important it is that the equipment is both used and maintained regularly.
She explains: “I suppose the traditional model for equipment is that it sits in a professor's lab. There's one poor postdoc who knows how it works, and eventually that postdoc might leave, and then nobody knows how it works. So that piece of really expensive equipment becomes a really expensive paperweight.
"Funders - quite rightly - prefer to fund equipment that will be looked after and shared collaboratively, rather than equipment left sitting in a lab being ignored.”
From face cream
to milk
Saskia enjoys the day-to-day collaboration and variation her role brings.
“Some days there are several different people coming into the lab to use the equipment; some days there's no one and I just get on with things - it's nice to have that variety” she says.
Whilst the majority of people using the equipment are based at Warwick, Saskia also welcomes staff from other universities and the private sector.
Through her microscope, Saskia has examined “all sorts of different things - from face cream for one company, to purified proteins, to even showcasing milk under a microscope to work experience students!”
"Recognition, retention, career options - all that sort of stuff is really strong here at Warwick."
Career advice
Interested in a career as a research technical professional? Saskia's advice is: “A lot of people in similar roles today got here through a similar career path, but as the sector is reforming there may be other approaches, like apprenticeships and gradual career growth, to get here.”
For Saskia, The University of Warwick is the perfect place for technical staff to grow their careers. “I talk to a lot of colleagues around the country and it’s clear that Warwick is genuinely sector-leading in the Technician’s Commitment - recognition, retention, career options - all that sort of stuff is really strong here.”
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