• Question: How did you think of experimenting in this area of food science?

    Asked by Eva-Brennan to Andrew, Dilip, Emma, John, Ruth on 8 Nov 2015.
    • Photo: John Gleeson

      John Gleeson answered on 8 Nov 2015:

      Reading. Definitely reading. Most of the time we don’t try to reinvent the wheel. If someone came up with an experiment to analyse protein in milk, we’ll see if we can use that for meat. Then we just need to figure out how to make a solid more liquid-y. So I spend lots of time reading about experiments other people have done and seeing can they be adapted for what I want.

    • Photo: Andrew Quigley

      Andrew Quigley answered on 9 Nov 2015:

      In my case, my supervisor had been awarded funding based on a project he came up with. I think that’s what happens in the majority of cases. Once the supervisor (or principle investigator) hires you, it’s up to you to complete the project.

      But as is normally the case in research, the project doesn’t always go in the original intended direction. My research has changed focus several times based on results from experiments and from what I’ve read about how other scientists have performed similar experiments.

    • Photo: Ruth Hamill

      Ruth Hamill answered on 10 Nov 2015:

      Its been said that an afternoon in the library can save you six months in the lab! I agree its so important to get yourself up to date on what has already been done, so you don’t repeat work needlessly – unless you are deliberately trying to validate somebody else’s finding of course. Once you are up to date it becomes possible to spot a gap in the market, what is needed to be done based on what’s already out there.

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