Francis Aclan, Research Laboratory Technician

Research Laboratory Technician

Francis is a Laboratory Technician at The Sainsbury Laboratory

What I do

I’m a Laboratory Technician at The Sainsbury Laboratory. My work includes preparing different chemicals, buffers and growth media that researchers use in their experiments. Growth media is a substance that can be used to provide nutrients to plants and bacteria. I also make sure that our machines are working properly, and the laboratory equipment is clean, so everything is ready to be used and researchers can focus on carrying out their work.

How I became a technician

I studied a T-level in Science, with my work placement (part of the T-level) at The Sainsbury Laboratory in Norwich. When I was about to finish college, I started looking for any job I could find, I was really open-minded. I applied for a Laboratory Technician role in tissue culture at The Sainsbury Laboratory but didn’t get the job.

After some time, I heard back from the Laboratory Manager at The Sainsbury Laboratory - it turned out they needed someone for maternity cover, and they offered me the position. Later, when the person on maternity leave decided not to return, I was offered a full-time role as a Laboratory Technician. It was really lucky timing!

Having teammates makes everything go a lot smoother

It’s more like working with friends, and we get on really well

A typical day in my
working life

I start my day at 9:00am and prepare the laboratory. This often includes unloading equipment and setting up everything for the day ahead. If it’s my day for collections, I’ll go around the lab gathering any dirty equipment to be put in the washing machine.

I also support researchers in conducting their studies on subjects such as crop disease resistance, fungus and lichens. For example, I make agar plates which are a jelly-like substance in a petri dish and used to grow bacterial colonies.

I make growth media too and put this in an autoclave, which uses pressurised steam to sterilise and kill harmful bacteria, viruses and spores on the items placed inside. A lot of the work is making sure the equipment and machines are ready for when the researchers need it.

What I love most about my job

I enjoy the structure of my work. You come in and know what needs to be done and in what order. Sometimes, we might get hit with a few curveballs like a machine breaking down or having to make an order we haven’t made before. We have to work around this and find quick solutions, which makes it even more interesting!

A little more about
my everyday role

The skills I use most

Using my initiative and working efficiently are really important skills for this role. Often, we need to figure out how to use the least amount of resources while completing a task. For example, when making growth media, if the ingredients are the same but just different volumes, then I’ll use the same beaker to save time and resources. Time management is also important, as we need to get different things ready at certain times.

The best bits about working in a team

Our team is small – just the three of us. If I was doing all the work alone, I’d be overwhelmed as it’s a busy laboratory, so having teammates makes everything go a lot smoother. We’re not super formal either, it’s more like working with friends, and we get on really well, which makes working fun! We also share tasks between us, whether it’s handling machines, collecting glassware or preparing the growth media.

My favourite piece of equipment

The tip washer is probably my favourite piece of equipment. It cleans plastic pipette tips, making sure there are no chemicals or dyes in them. This means the pipette tips can be reused, which cuts down on waste. It’s also one of the newest machines in the lab and one of the first in Europe, so it’s cool to be one of the few people who know how to use it!

The advice I’d give to someone younger

Enjoy your free time as much as you can. Once you’re in full-time work, it can be easy to wonder where all that free time went! Make the most of your youth by balancing studies with things you enjoy and use this time to explore a career that interests and excites you.

Nine apprentices sitting on sofas socialising

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