Techne Prize Draw Winner Announced

Dr Matthew Robinson, a Life and Environmental Sciences Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, UK, has won the Techne prize draw for a free 3Prime personal thermal cycler, worth over £2000.

Dr Robinson, a keen amateur photographer, is engaged in cystic fibrosis pathogen research under lead P.I. Dr Alan Brown. Their research team is part of a much larger bacterial pathogenesis group focusing on a variety of medically important bacterial species.

Research is currently being untaken into the two-component sensory systems of Burkholderia cenocepacia, an opportunistic bacterial pathogen that infects the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients. The 3Prime Thermal cycler will be used in experiments to further our understanding of how bacterial sensory systems relate to the virulence, niche adaptation and antibiotic resistance of pathogenic micro-organisms.

“The 3Prime is a great personal thermal cycler that allows me to run routine amplifications quickly and efficiently,” said Matthew Robinson. “Set-up is relatively quick with the option to automatically pre-set a number of standard stages in my reaction protocol, minimising the time needed to input new assays. Its small size means it sits neatly on the side of my bench and doesn’t take over the workspace. In all, a great personal thermal cycler."