As a child, Arun’s mum always thought he would grow up to become an inventor because he was always trying to understand how the things around him worked and then how he could fix them. This fascination then transformed into a focus towards the human body, how it works and how diseases are formed and prevented – leading to him pursuing an education and career in science.
In our latest meet the team blog we discuss Arun’s educational experience and the journey he went on to get to Cellomatics, as well as the work he completes here and his plans for the future.
Educational background
Arun gained his BSc (Hons) Biochemistry degree from Sheffield Hallam University before moving to Glasgow to complete his MRes in Biomedical Sciences and PhD in Cardiovascular Pharmacology.
In between his master’s and PhD, Arun worked as a Research Technician in the School of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Health at the University of Glasgow. In this role he supported numerous research groups across a wide scope of research areas relating to cardiovascular health and developed skills in molecular biology, as well as learning many in vivo techniques. Arun built a reputation as a reliable research technician and as a result of this was offered a British Heart Foundation three-year PhD scholarship, which focused on half in/ex vivo and half in vitro research.
Arun’s PhD researched the importance of the ADMA-DDAH1 pathway in cerebrovascular health and disease with a primary focus on ischaemic stroke outcomes in mice, using both pharmacological and genetic approaches. After submitting his PhD thesis, Arun made the decision to move to Nottingham and join Cellomatics in January 2024.
Working at Cellomatics
Arun felt that Cellomatics would be a great place to develop his skills and gain experience in the drug discovery space. With the company having a small, close-knit team, he saw the chance to make a big impact and have many opportunities to be exposed to a wide range of scientific disciplines and projects.
At Cellomatics, Arun has recently been promoted to Bioassay Scientist II and in this role he performs a variety of different assays for clients’ drug discovery or biomarker discovery projects – ranging from immunology to respiratory disease. He also performs internal R&D projects to help expand Cellomatics’ portfolio of disease models.
Highlights and goals for the future
Arun enjoys the feeling of knowing that the outcomes of his hard work could help one of Cellomatics’ clients take a step closer towards a breakthrough in their drug discovery projects. He also appreciates whenever he receives positive feedback from a client and knows that he has met or exceeded their needs.
Coming from a PhD with a focus on the brain and the blood brain barrier (BBB), Arun was thrilled to be able to contribute to the development of Cellomatics’ in vitro BBB model INNOBEX™, which was established shortly before he joined the company.
In the future, Arun would like to contribute to projects which lead to novel therapeutic options becoming available for complex diseases such as cancer or ischaemic stroke. He is currently unsure as to whether he would like to approach this via the scientific or business development route but knows that he wants be part of as many projects that make a difference as possible.
Keep an eye on our blogs page to meet more of the Cellomatics team in the future.
