Dr Emma Pepperell of Bit.Bio discusses her work in the field of biotechnology, the developments happening around her and the importance of touching humanity in an industry often found in the clinic.
Interested in animal medicine and science from a young age, Dr Emma Pepperell now focused on her studies at an early age, before committing to a BSc in Pharmacology at Newcastle University, where she graduated with a first class degree.
It was during his undergraduate degree that he began working at GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals, where he spent a year working with the organs of the brain and gut, to better understand how one might influence the other.
Pepperell said, “Even back then, 20-odd years ago, there was an idea that what was going on in the brain might affect things like Crohn’s disease and conditions like this that we know affect a lot of people.
“So that piqued my interest drug development and all kinds of pharmaceutical industry and the use of scientific and research products in health.”
Encouraged to continue his education in this field, Pepperell enrolled at the University of Oxford, where he soon earned a DPhil in Clinical Laboratory Sciences. As is often the case, his Doctorate focused on a field of study that would eventually become the basis of his work, in this case the use of stem cells in therapy.
He said, “I was looking at umbilical cord blood cells to see if they could replenish the bone marrow of a child with leukemia, so it made a lot of sense. Then I got into the commercial side of life sciences.
“The opportunity to join Bit.Bio came up a few years ago and it seemed like a natural, kind of full circle to get back into the stem cell field and really think about how I can use everything I’ve learned about life science research tools and drug development and think about how we can really bring these products of human cells to have an impact, help develop drugs and understand diseases better.”
For others who want to enter the STEM field or even careers outside of it, he finds it important that no matter what decisions you make, you show a genuine interest in what you are doing. When you have a natural curiosity about something, you find that you will stay motivated and invest in self-improvement to fit the dream.
“I would say to young students who are starting their careers, try and try a lot of work experience and find what works for you. I went to a veterinary clinic, I went to patent attorneys and learned about patent screwdrivers. I tried all kinds of different things to see, okay, what will really interest me, to find something that will really inspire me.”
Maintaining health care is humane
Having been involved in the work of Bit.Bio for two years, Pepperell was recently appointed CEO of the organization.
He said, “Basically, what we’re doing is creating human cells. So you can take an adult skin cell or a blood cell and reprogram it back to what’s called a pluripotent state and that means it can become any cell in the body.”
“So we can then put in the codes that direct the cell to become a neuron, a brain cell, a liver cell, a heart cell, any type of cell you like and then you can use these cells to start understanding how disease works.
“You can use them to identify drug targets. You can use them to study what happens when a new drug in development is used to see if that drug is toxic or what the metabolic profile is. We make cells that replicate human biology in a controlled way so we can really study health and disease and drug interactions.”
The most appealing aspect of his profession is the way he handles the challenges that arise. Pepperell explained how, in drug development, animal testing is unfortunate, although it is often necessary and an important part of the drug development process.
As many organizations and institutions look for ways to reduce the use of animals in creating human biological effects, Pepperell said, “You know we use animal models because they represent the system, but nobody wants to use them where they can avoid it.
“Therefore, there is a huge challenge in the industry right now to develop non-animal models that people can trust to bring safe drugs to market, while acknowledging that all the knowledge and evidence that has been built up for almost the entire history of the pharmaceutical industry has been from animals.”
He mentioned his pride in being part of an organization that works to support scientists in the adoption and development of new methods, required by the FDA and other agencies, that may eliminate the use of animals wherever possible in drug development.
Keeping such a clinical industry in a humane state is Pepperell’s, most important, since his and Bit.Bio’s goal is to leave society better than they found it. Sharing knowledge is one of the ways he believes STEM professionals can contribute to a just and thoughtful world.
He said, “You are as successful as the groups around you because no one can achieve anything alone.
A good example, he finds, is Bit.Bio’s recently organized Human Cell Forum, where the company brought together 200 scientists all working on human models designed for better drug development. He found that the public feeling that was created, especially among experts who are often under a lot of pressure to get funding and resources, somehow eased the silos and led to a positive result in the research area.
He said, “What we are starting to see in these events that we have put together is that scientists are really coming together to share how they are solving problems.” One example is ALS, which is neurodegenerative disease.
“There were three or four companies all trying to build the same model and they all brought what they learned to the event and we shared openly how they developed the model and that’s rare to see.”
In the end, you find that it often depends on who you have in your corner, to have faith in your abilities and strive every day to do better than you did the day before, not only for yourself, but also for your colleagues, patients and laboratory animals affected by your work.
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