Second year Bsc Cell and Developmental Biology student Nitish Aswani describes his exciting and intense time working at the innovative Prenetics. He recounts his time helping develop blood type prediction models, as well as the skills he gained from this experience and shares his tips on looking for internships.
This summer I was able to partake in an internship at Hong Kong’s largest biotech startup, Prenetics, a company that was initially focused on consumer genetic testing kits but has also recently ventured into COVID-19 testing. I applied for the position during a time of great uncertainty, as I was conflicted about whether to stay in the UK or come back to Hong Kong as both places were gravely impacted by pandemic. Looking back, I’m glad I returned home as I was able to experience what I now consider my best internship opportunity.
At Prenetics, I was a part of the Clinical team, a role centralised around the research and development (R&D) of our genetic test reports. A main highlight of my experience was contributing to their launch of the ABO Blood Test report. From analysing reference sequences and mutation data to gaining bioinformatics experience from coding blood type prediction models on python, I was introduced to it all during my time there. Being part of the R&D team meant intense problem solving, and I faced exactly that. The project required hours of playing around with selecting SNP markers and blood group alleles amongst other factors, all with the ultimate aim of forming a model that optimizes blood type prediction from raw sequencing data. Throughout my experience, I was also faced with many opportunities to hone my research skills as I was required update literature for our existing reports. What’s more, all these experiences were enhanced with the fast-paced, challenging, innovative start-up culture at Prenetics!
Prior to this role, I had come off several, ordinary laboratory experiences. My aim this year was to gain greater exposure into how those laboratory practices would be applied and executed in a product based, company setting. A ‘big picture’ approach to healthcare, if you will. The collaboration of a diverse team of clinicians, laboratory researchers, software engineers, designers, business developers, amongst others, was eye-opening. It was amazing how such a diverse team orchestrated the entire workflow and executed a simple idea into a product. Overall, it instilled within me a sense of pride that through my contribution, albeit granular in the grand scheme of the company, millions of people worldwide could align with our mission of ‘preventative healthcare’ and benefit from our genetic tests.
In terms of guidance, I’m not sure if I qualify for advice being only a first year undergraduate. But if I had to give one tip to give to anyone looking for experience is to not limit your options. No matter how small you may think the role is, there is always something you can learn from it. Another more strategic tip I’d recommend is that you should never underestimate the power of a cold-call. This technique has done me and my friends great justice in the past, and will work now more than ever given the current COVID circumstances. Taking the initiative to ring a potential employer actually works more than you think it does, and can sometimes even a better indicator of interest than emailing!
If you enjoyed this article and want to learn more, Nitish is happy for you to contact him via your UCL email.