New equipment boosts JBU studies

One of the staff at the JBU has kindly told us about his work in the lab and how it has been boosted by a cutting-edge piece of new technology.

Raphael Slip, pictured in the lab with the new equipment, completed an MSc in Molecular Medicine at the University of York at the end of 2019.

Afterwards, he took on a position as a research technician at the Jack Birch Unit (JBU) for laboratory experience to kick-start his future career.

“The Jack Birch Unit recently helped the Biology department acquire a new piece of equipment that will be essential for cancer research,” said Raph.

“It is called the Pico Bioruptor – a sophisticated machine that subjects cells to high-frequency ultrasound waves. The sound waves break apart the cells through a process called sonication, allowing researchers to isolate various components to further investigate.

“I am interested in using the Bioruptor to isolate chromatin, a word that describes how DNA is packaged with proteins in the nuclei of cells. Understanding the organisation of this genetic material can tell us about differences between different cell types and how normal cells differ from cancer cells.

“At the JBU the Bioruptor will be used to study the interactions between the DNA and its regulatory proteins, called transcription factors. This will help us understand how bladder cells become specialised and the changes that occur in bladder cancer.

“The ability of the Bioruptor to give reproducible results will allow us, and many other researchers at the University of York, to use it to study different types of cancers using state-of-the-art molecular techniques.”