S6.15: Cordelia Langford: Making Big Science Happen
Hello, and welcome to Genetics Unzipped - the Genetics Society podcast, with me, Dr Kat Arney. In this episode we’re going behind the scenes at the world’s leading genomics institute to find out what it takes to make Big Science happen and hear the stories behind the sequencing.
Cordelia Langford: the stories behind the sequencing
Cordelia Langford is the Director of Scientific Operations at the Wellcome Sanger Institute just outside Cambridge in the UK. Over the past couple of decades her career has taken her from the early days of DNA sequencing using radioactive chemicals and a ruler, through to the birth and delivery of the Human Genome Project twenty years ago and on to overseeing today’s industrial-scale sequencing pipelines, churning out millions of genomes from humans and other species all over the world. Today she runs a department of about 300 people responsible for generating the information and resources that powers the world-leading genomics research at the Institute.
Rather than taking a conventional route into a scientific career in the UK - that’s usually A levels, a degree, and then a masters or PhD - Cordelia didn’t get the grades she needed to pursue her dream as a doctor. Instead, she took a sideways journey starting from a sixth form placement at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge through a range of technician jobs, to eventually doing a PhD and a role as a researcher at Cambridge University. That’s where she really fell in love with the double helix - DNA, chromosomes and all the stuff of life that makes us who we are. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Click here to read the full transcript…
Coming up from the Genetics Society!
Get a wriggle on if you’re thinking of applying for one of the Society’s junior scientist conference grants to attend either an online or in-person conference, as the deadline coming up on the 1st of August. That’s also the deadline for this quarter’s round of Heredity Fieldwork grants, with up to £2,000 available to cover travel and accommodation costs associated with a field-based genetic research project.
Also coming up on 15th August is the deadline for applications for the next round of Genetics Society training grants, each up to £1,200 to enable members to attend formal short training courses, or visit another lab to train in specific techniques.
For more information about this podcast including show notes, transcripts, links, references, music credits and everything else head over to geneticsunzipped.com You can find us on Twitter @geneticsunzip and please do take a moment to rate and review us on Apple podcasts - it really makes a difference and helps more people discover the show.
This episode of Genetics Unzipped was written and presented by Kat Arney. It’s a First Create the Media production for The Genetics Society - one of the oldest learned societies dedicated to promoting research, training, teaching and public engagement in all areas of genetics. You can find out more and apply to join at genetics.org.uk. Our theme music was composed by Dan Pollard, and the logo was designed by James Mayall, audio production was by Emma Werner and the team, and our producer is Sally Le Page. Thanks for listening, and until next time, goodbye.
