My name is Claudia Giannachi and I am from Italy. I graduated in 2020 from the Faculty of Pharmacy in Ferrara, Italy.
In November 2021, I started my SSPC PhD under the supervision of Professor Abina Crean, Dr Evin Allen and Dr Sonja Vucen at the School of Pharmacy, University College Cork. My PhD researcher Thesis is “Design of protein-based formulations to enable storage under ambient conditions”. There is a growing interest in delivering protein- based therapeutics via other routes, such as via oral tablets. A key challenge for the delivery of these drugs in solid dosage formats is protein stabilization. The aim of my project is to obtain a stable lyophilised protein formulation that would allow deliver in solid oral dosage under ambient conditions. This aim would be achieved through the selection of the type of excipients (for lyophilisation and tabletting) and by optimisation of lyophilisation process in terms of process and storage stability.
I did my SSPC industrial placement at MSD Brinny, Cork in Process Sciences team for five months, reporting to Stephen Hayes and Sean O’Keeffe.
During my placement I worked on the optimisation of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine process. The aim of the project was to assess aligment of the processes, and whether the new generation vaccine perform equivalently in the old generation vaccine process.
During this project we recreated on a small scale what happens on a large scale in the laboratory, optimizing some essential chemical reactions in the vaccine production process. In the Process Science laboratory, I had the opportunity not only to get close to the chemistry involved in all the reactions, but also to learn a lot about ultrafiltration and to understand how different factors can influence it.
This placement was in a different field from my PhD. My analytical and laboratory skills helped me a lot but the number of things I learnt was impressive. I learnt new laboratory techniques, chemical reactions such as activation, conjugation, I learnt a lot about small-scale ultrafiltration. Both in my PhD and during my placement I used lyophiliser, but during these five months I had the opportunity to use new equipment such as homogenizer, bioreactors. I learnt a lot about the world of vaccines and their production process and I will definitely take this knowledge with me.
The biggest differences I noticed during my industry placement were the super organisation of the laboratories, well-established working hours, teamwork and sharing of tasks in the laboratory. Another difference was seeing the various departments (people with different background) sharing their results and working together towards a common goal. It was a great experience to be able to participate in numerous meetings with different departments, but also between two different sites, and to see how each individual department contributes to the development of a single product.
Overall, these five months of placement taught me a lot both on a personal level and on a professional level. It gave me the opportunity to work in a team, to communicate with so many people even from different departments and therefore with different backgrounds. It allowed me to learn about the engineering behind the pharmaceutical industry, how each individual can contribute to bringing a drug to market. It has allowed me to learn so much about the production of a vaccine, how every single step, every single chemical reaction are critical to its realization. It has allowed me to work alongside great experts and made me realize that there is never an end, every day there is something new to learn.
An industry placement for PhD researcher is an incredible opportunity. It is like a springboard. It gives you the chance to meet experts in your field and beyond, and catapults you into the world of work. It would recommend this experience to anyone, because, five months during a PhD may seem like a long time, but I can assure you that it helped me a lot to believe in myself more and above all it will help me a lot in the future.
