ATGthePodcast 301 - A Conversation with Michele Frison, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge episode artwork

EPISODE · Jan 6, 2026 · 54 MIN

ATGthePodcast 301 - A Conversation with Michele Frison, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge

from Against the Grain - The Podcast

Today's episode features guest host Michael Upshall (guest editor, Charleston Briefings) who talks with Michele Frison, Postdoctoral Research Assistant at the MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge. Michele is originally from Italy and completed his PhD at UCL in England with a focus on cell biology. He defines himself as a cell biologist and biochemist, and much of his current research specializes in cell and mitochondrial biology, aging and disease.  The Mitochondrial Biology Unit is part of a larger infrastructure that runs clinical trials for rare diseases. Michele says the process is very slow, taking up to a decade or so, but that he has been fortunate enough to have made a recent discovery that could well lead to clinical trial: the protein target that he's worked with is actually a target for drugs that have already passed phase one clinical trials and are now passing phase two for Parkinson's disease. If the research he has done in models replicates in humans, then it could well lead to a drug for diseases that affect one in 8,000 humans. Michele also talks about the disconnect between the public understanding of science and scientific practice, research culture and competition, open science and the review process, and the vast amount of literature that scientists have to keep up with, as well as his views on the use of AI and social media in his field. The video of this interview can be found here: https://youtu.be/ri_djNwi1jw Social Media: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mupshall/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/mkfrison92/ Twitter: Keywords: #UniversityOfCambridge #MBU #LifeSciences #OpenScience #BiomedicalResearch #Research #OpenResearch #ResearchCulture #CellBiology #MitochondrialBiology #PostDoc #ScientificPublishing #PeerReview #LibraryTechnology #Innovation #career #scholcomm #ScholarlyCommunication #libraries #librarianship #LibraryNeeds #LibraryLove #ScholarlyPublishing #AcademicPublishing #publishing #LibrariesAndPublishers #podcasts

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ATGthePodcast 301 - A Conversation with Michele Frison, Postdoctoral Research Assistant, MRC Mitochondrial Biology Unit at the University of Cambridge

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