Spotlight Scientist

Spotlight on:

Paul Malone

Paul joined Biofortuna as a Senior Project Scientist. With extensive experience in biochemistry and molecular diagnostics, he’s playing a key role in assay development and cell line QC. Read on to learn more about his role and discover why he chose a career in science.

Spotlight on:

Paul Malone

Paul joined Biofortuna as a Senior Project Scientist. With extensive experience in biochemistry and molecular diagnostics, he’s playing a key role in assay development and cell line QC. Read on to learn more about his role and discover why he chose a career in science.

Can you tell us a bit about your background and what led you to pursue a career in science?

I had always been interested in biology at school – particularly in cellular functions – and I wanted to be able to make a difference to healthcare sector in some way, so I decided to pursue a Biochemistry degree.

While I studied at Aberdeen University, I became interested in Protein Biology. I then moved to pursue a master’s at University of Liverpool, working on the functional characterisation of proteins related to hypoxia that are promising targets in oncology.

Out of education, my career has focused on medical device testing and development which then transitioned into molecular diagnostics, where I’ve helped bring new devices and diagnostic tests to market to support the healthcare sector.

 

What is your current research focus or area of expertise?

My current focus is lyophilised assay development, supporting our customers with LAMP assay design & method development for their workflows. I’m also working on our cell line QC services, where I’ll be helping to expand our strong portfolio to offer additional screening services.

 

How does your work contribute to solving some of the major challenges in your field?

My work helps to support customers looking to improve the stability of their diagnostics through lyophilisation, so that their assays are more resilient to both contamination and changes in temperature. This means they last longer and can continue to deliver accurate results to patients.

What does a typical day look like for you?

A typical day might start with calls with prospective or existing customers, where I’ll be either discussing work proposals or reporting findings from testing alongside our Customer Engagement Manager and Technical Lead. In the afternoons, I’ll be in the laboratory with the team on assay development testing or supporting our manufacturing team on a production run.

The nice thing about working with the many different customers is the variety they bring, so no two days are ever the same.

 

What advice would you give to young scientists or students interested in following a similar path?

Follow your passion. With so many different directions to choose from, it can feel overwhelming, so I stuck to the subjects that genuinely interested me. In my experience, it’s much easier to stay motivated when your work aligns with your interests.

 

If you weren’t a scientist, what would you be doing?

Outside of science my passions are baking and a recent dive into photography – so probably taking nice pictures of the bread I bake!

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As a direct result of that growth, we are always on the lookout to expand our team with the brightest talent.

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