My First Paper: Ashley Coope

Posted on: 1 November 2022 in November 2022 posts

This week we continue our My First Paper campaign with Ashley Coope, an Academic Foundation Doctor working at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust who tells us all about his first research paper.

Your name and area of research.

In addition to my clinical interests, my research has focused on the application of bioinformatic techniques for tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. This includes studying how pluripotent stem cells differentiate into cell types such as articular cartilage, and the metabolic signatures they produce, with translational applications for cell-based therapies, disease modelling, and drug discovery. 

What was the title of your first paper and who was it submitted to?

The title of the paper was "NMR Metabolite Monitoring during the Differentiation of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Provides New Insights into the Molecular Events That Regulate Embryonic Chondrogenesis" and it was published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Read the paper here.  

How would you explain what this paper was about to your grandparents?

If I were to tell my grandparents about this paper I would explain that as an embryo develops, its cells must differentiate into all the different tissues present in the body. This research uses a model for these early embryonic cells that we could study and see for the first time how their metabolism changes as they differentiate into articular cartilage, such as that present on the surface of joints.

We used a technique called¹H NMR metabolomics which is an effective tool for identifying and measuring the biological compounds made in the body due to metabolism. 

¹H NMR allows us to monitor the changes in the metabolic profile of the cells, providing new insights into the metabolic pathways involved in differentiation and how these may regulate cell growth and development.

      Intracellular metabolite changes between Induced pluripotent stem cells at various stages of differentiation.

What was the most significant thing for you about that paper?

Bioinformatics techniques are rapidly developing, with increasing potential in medical research applications, and there has been a paucity of data regarding the specific changes which occur during cell linage differentiation. It was exciting for us to demonstrate the efficacy of ¹H NMR metabolomics in monitoring the metabolite changes within pluripotent stem cells undergoing differentiation, providing data with implications for future translational work. 

What advice would you give to others about submitting their first paper?

Submitting our final paper was the culmination of months of work for me and my supervisors- without a real interest in what I was doing and the support of my colleagues it would have been much more difficult.

Always look to draw on the experience of your colleagues where possible and reflect on your work to learn. The new skills and that I gained through working on this project and the discussions I had with my colleagues were their own reward and propelled the project forwards. 

If you would like to be part of the #MyFirstPaper campaign (one of the most popular features on the Faculty website), the HLS Comms team would love to hear from you. The information we’d require from you is:  

• Your name and your area of research (please identify any web links you’d like us to use)
• What was the title of your first paper and who was it submitted to?
• How would you explain what this paper was about to your grandparents?
• What was the most significant thing for you about that paper?
• What advice would you give to others about submitting their first paper?

Please supply photos of yourself (and any other relevant pictures), plus a link to the paper if possible. Please send all information to hlscomms@liverpool.ac.uk