Dr Konstantinos Beis is a Reader at Imperial College London, and Principal Investigator into the structural biology of membrane proteins at the Research Complex at Harwell. Two MRC grants and two BBSRC studentships enable him to be on site at Research Complex, with his entire research group: two postdocs, PhDs and visiting students.
Kostas came to Research Complex in the first instance due to the proximity to the Diamond Light Source. ‘I moved here so I could have access to state-of-the-art facilities necessary for my research. Being in close proximity to research groups in Diamond and Research Complex has enabled my group to form multidisciplinary collaborations that has allowed us to answer key biological questions.’
'In addition, being on site, I have access to equipment without paying service fees or maintenance.’ It’s one of the good selling points, says Kostas. 'I have access to cutting-edge equipment without having to worry about how to fund it – that’s unusual. It means that I can spend my budget on more specific equipment for my group.’
‘And it’s a good place to recruit good students and postdocs, because there’s such good science here.’