1963 - 1966. Degree Student, Brunel University. Holder of Major County Award.

Apart from the purely academic studies, this 4-year course (which I joined in Year 2) included Industrial Training periods, each of six months duration. In 1964, this was with Cyanamid of Gt. Britain, assisting with development field trials of a range of agricultural chemicals (notably phorate granular insecticide and cycocel plant growth regulant) in several crops, including wheat, potato, cruciferae, carrot (phorate became an industry standard in the UK, used in about 40% of the carrot-growing area), strawberries, hops and blackcurrants. The second period was with the Medical Research Council Neuropsychiatric Research Unit, assisting with advanced biochemical investigations of the metabolism of S35-labelled amino acids in brain tissue. Last but not least, I carried out a final-year research project into the effect of insecticides on a cockroach isolated heart preparation.

Taylor, B. (1966) A method of investigating the effect of insecticides and drugs on the isolated heart of Periplaneta americana. Project Report, Brunel University, 40 pp.

1960 - 1963. Laboratory Technician, Wellcome Laboratories of Tropical Medicine, London.

Assisted with bacteriological research, into the spirochaete Genus Leptospira, by a WHO Reference Laboratory. I had wide-ranging duties, especially the carrying out of agglutination-lysis tests and the maintenance of some 80 serotypes, including media preparation. These bacteria are unusual in having to be observed using dark-ground fluorescence microscopy. Concurrently I studied part-time for the Higher Endorsed Certificate in Applied Biology.

Back to Personal History PageReturn to Personal History
©1998 - Brian Taylor CBiol FSBiol FRES
11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K.

href="btcv10.htm"