Why do things happen where they do?

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Laura-Isobel McCall is a chemical cartographer. She has a fundamental question: why are chemical responses to an external stimulus, such as a pathogen, different depending on the organ, tissue and even different areas of the same tissue? 

Her curiosity and talent for working at the interface between scientific disciplines led her to develop innovative ways to build three-dimensional maps of the chemical composition of organisms. This is what is defined as chemical cartography and it allows us to understand complex interactions and interplay of host and pathogen metabolism.

This episode explores the complex relationship between living organisms and the environment around them. A deep understanding of the metabolic response to exogenous chemicals can ultimately enable the design of better drugs but also generates a new set of ethical questions.  Metabolomics, or each person’s chemical map, not only define who we are (like genomics does), but also what we have done, and what we have been in contact with over the course of our lives.

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About Your Host

Paolo Braiuca grew up in the North-East of Italy and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from nearby esteemed University of Trieste, Italy.  He developed expertise in biocatalysis during his years of post-doctoral research in Italy and the UK, where he co-founded a startup company. With this new venture, Paolo’s career shifted from R&D to business development, taking on roles in commercial, product management, and marketing. He has worked in the specialty chemicals, biotechnology, and pharmaceutical markets in Germany and the UK, where he presently resides.

He is currently the Director of Global Market Development in the Laboratory Chemicals Division  at Thermo Fisher Scientific™ which put him in the host chair of the Bringing Chemistry to Life podcast. A busy father of four, in what little free time he has, you’ll find him inventing electronic devices with the help of his loyal 3D-printer and soldering iron. And if you ask him, he’ll call himself a “maker” at heart.