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2009 Nuffield Foundation Undergraduate bursary student Sam Timson

In Summer 2009, at the end of his 2nd year in the Leicester Chemistry Department, Sam Timson was awarded a Nuffield Foundation research bursary to join Max Ryadnov’s group. Sam was involved in a project aiming at the generation of a new type of biomaterials – antimicrobial matrices. His main tasks were:

• to chemically synthesise small proteins that would assemble into nanostructured fibrilliar networks

• to explore ways to render these antimicrobial.

The project relied upon a number of scientific approaches combining microbiology, electron microscopy and molecular biophysics.

Speaking about his project, Sam said: It has been an eye-opening experience. One thing to study chemistry from textbooks and laboratory practicums and another is to work in an intensive research environment with new discoveries in your hands. Being a part of Max’s group was truly inspiring, and I think I did well. I have learnt so much that it may take me another year to digest all I came across in the project. But one thing for me is now absolutely clear – I want to take a step further after my graduation and aim to do a PhD.

Commenting on the project and work Sam undertook, Dr Max Ryadnov added: This bursary scheme has proved to be quite a neat idea for us. Based on Sam’s performance and enthusiasm, I can see the scheme as a very effective mechanism for spotting new talents and supporting them at early stages of their careers. Seeing Sam’s eagerness to learn and to succeed was also a good boost for the group and our research as a whole. Thanks to the Nuffield Foundation it has been a very valuable and enjoyable experience. I am confident about Sam’s bright future.

Sam’s contribution has led to two research papers with one just been published in the flagship Journal of the American Chemical Society, JACS.

Last Updated Thu, 8 October 2009