Question: what is your favourite experiment you have done

Samuel Ellis answered on 3 Feb 2022:

During my PhD I was studying food poisoning bacteria. My favourite experiment used an infection model with real human tissue. We worked closely with a hospital to find volunteer donors who were having endoscopy procedures (basically a long thin camera up the bum or down the throat to look for problems in the intestines). During this the doctors could take a few tiny samples of the gut lining, which I then used in the lab for experiments. For example, I could add my different bacteria and then use an electron microscope (far more powerful than a normal light microscope) to actually see and compare how they were able to stick to the surface of the sample. By using these fresh real samples we could replicate as accurately as possible where the bacteria colonise in the body during real infections.

Could be a little gross, and very fiddly working with tiny pieces, but probably my favourite experiment overall!