Laura Elizabeth Lansdowne

Science Writer

Writes for:

Screening Living Cells at High-speed

We recently spoke with Eric Hobbs, CEO at Berkeley Lights to learn more about "digital cell biology". Erik also describes how optofluidics can be used to gain fast, comprehensive measurements and insights across thousands of cells in parallel.

Cell Culture Evolution – A Revolution for Drug Discovery

Two-dimensional cell cultures have played a role in the drug discovery and development process for decades, however in recent years three-dimensional (3D) cell culture has taken center stage. Here we take a look at the evolution of cell culture, the rise of 3D, and how the industry’s shift from “static” to “fluidic” is inspiring the next generation of in vitro models.

Uniting Stakeholders to Streamline Drug Discovery

We recently spoke with Tyler Golato, Lead Scientist at Molecule, to learn more about the "innovation crisis", the factors directly impacting the types of therapeutics being brought to market, and how by uniting stakeholders it is possible to streamline the drug development pipeline.

Standardizing Robotics and Automation in the Lab

We often come across terms such as "Lab of the Future" and "Smart Lab" – but what do these actually mean? We recently spoke to Dr Patrick Courtney, member of the Board of Directors of SiLA (Standards in Laboratory Automation) to learn more about the value of implementing laboratory robotics and automation.

Automating Research to Improve Reproducibility and Throughput

For several decades mankind has looked to automate tedious and error-prone manual steps carried out in the laboratory, with a goal to improve scientific reproducibility and throughput. We recently spoke to Charles Fracchia, CEO and Co-Founder of BioBright, to learn how automation can be adopted to help researchers analyze their data.

Injecting Dying Cells to Trigger Tumor Destruction

By directly injecting engineered dying cells into tumors, researchers have successfully triggered the immune system to attack the cancerous cells at multiple sites within the body and reduce tumor growth, in mice.

A Sweet Surprise: Targeting Sugar-coated Proteins to Treat Pancreatitis

CA19-9 – a complex sugar structure that coats many proteins, has now been linked to the transformation of pancreatitis to pancreatic cancer, according to a new study published in Science.

Modern Milestones in Cancer Research

Tremendous progress has been made in the cancer research field over the past 20 years. This infographic highlights 10 major milestones since the year 2000.

Addressing Gender Bias – “It Is Time to End the Tradition in Science of All-Male Speaking Panels”

Francis S. Collins, M.D., Ph.D. Director of the National Institutes of Health, has recently directly addressed the issue of underrepresented groups in science: "Too often, women and members of other groups underrepresented in science are conspicuously missing in the marquee speaking slots at scientific meetings and other high-level conferences.”

Developing a Single-shot Vaccine Against Chikungunya

Chikungunya is a viral disease which can be transmitted via the bite of a mosquito infected with the chikungunya virus (CHIKV). Currently there is no preventative vaccine approved for use. We recently spoke with Thomas Lingelbach, CEO at Valneva to learn more about the development of the company's chikungunya vaccine candidate and the results of their recent Phase 1 clinical study.