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An interview with Lindsay Hall Quadrum Institute, UK
Lindsay Hall
Clare Taylor Edinburgh Napier University, UK
Each year we award the prestigious WH Pierce Prize to a young microbiologist who has made a substantial contribution to the science of applied microbiology. This year we were pleased to announce that the winner of the 2019 WH Pierce Prize is Dr Lindsay Hall, Research Leader of the School of Life Sciences, Quadram Institute.
SfAM General Secretary Clare Taylor was able to grab Lindsay and ask her a few questions. Can you tell us about your current work? My research involves exploring the first contact between microbes and their host during the early life developmental window, with the aim of understanding how these microbial communities, and specific keystone members like Bifidobacterium, help digest the food that we eat, programme our immune system and help fight pathogenic microbes. I am keen to understand the mechanisms by which these microbes provide these benefits, using cutting-edge experimental and computational tools, with the ultimate aim of developing new microbiome-based therapies to prevent and treat disease. Who are your microbiology heroes? Someone I read about a while back that really struck a chord was the Scottish virologist Dr June Almeda (yes I know I work on bacteria, but viruses are cool too). Despite having no ‘formal’ training, she was a pioneer of imaging viruses using immunostaining in electron microscopy. This just shows what you can do when you have passion and a vision, while being encouraged by those around you – showing what you can be, and what you can achieve.
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microbiologist
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September 2019
I would also say Dr Gill Douce, who was my undergraduate supervisor at Glasgow, was a heroine – as she put up with me and really inspired me to be bold and curious, and to take a big step and move away for my PhD. This has been invaluable in my career as it taught me that I love being in new environments, learning new things and meeting new and interesting people. Gill was/is a fantastic teacher and scientist, and so supportive during my time in Glasgow and also throughout my career, so a big thanks and shout-out to Gill. What are you most proud of? Probably what I am most proud of, to date, is being awarded a Wellcome Trust Investigator Award at the end of 2013. At the time, I was the youngest person to have received one, which was crazy, but most importantly this was my first competitive grant so I was able to start my own group. Until that date I didn’t have any resources (staff, students or a lab) – so it was all very exciting but also super daunting! If you could be a microbe for a day, what would you be and why? Bifidobacterium obviously! This is the main genus of bacteria we work on in the lab, and if I could be Biffy for a day this would help me figure out how it does all the amazing beneficial functions that help keep us (and particularly infants) healthy – and would also help with the grant writing!
www.sfam.org.uk