MedImmune Artist-in-Residence :JANES ADVENTURES IN LAB LAND

I have been waiting to share this exciting news with you all for a sometime but I needed to wait until all the paper work was completed - thanks to the hard work of Jon Green, VP Business Operations, I am now officially Artist-in-Residence at MedImmune, Cambridge. MedImmune is in the very simplest of terms a pharmaceutical company (and part of AstraZeneca). 

Yesterday I went and spent my first day learning about what they do in "Lab Land," as I am affectionately calling it. The very patient John Elvin, Scientific External Liaisons (UK), spent the morning showing me round, explaining what different labs do, answering my endless questions and doing so in a manner that I, a non-science specialist, could understand. He was also the inspiration for "Jane's Adventures in Lab Land." One of the best things is that I met a large number of scientist, who I am delighted to say, seemed genuinely interested in what I am doing and were equally eager to be involved in inspiring me with their science!  So I am having to reacquaint myself with the structure and characteristics of antibodies, antigens, proteins, etc just so I can have a vague understanding of what I'm being told - after all 'A' level social biology was a long time ago! ( I cant help feeling a bit like Penny in 'The Big Bang Theory' !!). Now I just can't wait to go again and spend some time shadowing scientists.