Скачать или смотреть The technician making new COVID-19 treatments with llamas - 101 Jobs That Change The World (Ep 29)

Could llamas help us treat COVID-19? Hong Lin, a Senior Technician at Reading University, is working on a pioneering study to find out.

Llamas and their close relatives have unusual immune systems. They can make a special type of antibody called nanobodies to fight infection. Compared to regular antibodies, they're smaller, more stable and highly targeted. When a llama is injected with a harmless protein, they will produce nanobodies that target and neutralise that specific protein. The nanobodies can then be collected and purified from a blood sample. Researchers are interested in their potential to help patients whose immune systems are struggling to fight off COVID-19. They're also investigating them as a treatment for asthma and high cholesterol.

Hong manages the daily running of the research labs. Through her work, she has supported several important projects developing new medical treatments - for example, for children with severe epilepsy. In the llama study, she manages the llama's injection and blood collection schedules and prepares the injection contents on the day, before taking them to the university farm where the llamas live.

"I'm quite proud of my work in this research. You can contribute a bit to people's health. It does help people's life" says Hong.

See more world-changing jobs like these on our playlist:    • 101 Jobs that change the world  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to 101 Jobs That Change The World - our campaign to highlight some of the many roles that contribute to success of the research and innovation system.

In these videos you’ll meet the people who work – often behind the scenes – in a wide variety of fulfilling and interesting roles beyond the traditional image of a researcher or innovator. Our 101 Jobs profiles offer a glimpse into the lives of the varied people who are working across the research and innovation system, some in remote or unusual locations. Their jobs are essential to the creative, dynamic research and innovation system we need to tackle huge challenges like Covid-19, climate change, how we’ll live and work in the future – and they really do change the world.


We are UK Research and Innovation, the body that allocates government funds for research. If you're a UK tax payer, your contributions help fund the work we showcase on our channel. And if you liked this video, follow us on these channels:

Medium:   / ukri  

Instagram:   / weareukri  

Facebook:   / weareukri  

YouTube:     / ukresearchandinnovation  

Or sign up for our weekly newsletter https://public.govdelivery.com/accoun...

#101Jobs #TechniciansMakeItHappen #ScienceJobs #DreamJob #ChangeTheWorld