SciLifeLab Voices: Tiruwork Makonnen

This time in our SciLifeLab Voices series, meet Tiruwork Makonnen, who works at SciLifeLab Campus Solna supporting the research crowd there with clean glassware and autoclaved material for laboratory experiments.

Her work marks the start of operations in the campus’s new Beta building. For Tiruwork, though, this is familiar ground: she previously worked in these very facilities when they belonged to the pharmaceutical company Sobi.

Hi Tiruwork, what is it that you do at SciLifeLab?

I wash and autoclave laboratory glassware so that it is ready to be used again. It is work that supports the experiments carried out by the different research groups and infrastructures in the building. Clean glassware is an absolute requirement for laboratory work. Residues from previous experiments can affect results, and autoclaving uses steam under pressure to sterilise equipment when needed. 

What is your background?

I completed a two-year vocational upper secondary programme in laboratory technology, specialising in analytical chemistry, followed by a six-month biology course at Stockholm University’s Arrhenius Laboratory. I have since worked at several life science companies in the Stockholm area. These experiences have given me a thorough understanding of the importance of properly prepared equipment for reliable scientific work.

You have worked in this building before. What brings you back?

I previously worked in these exact facilities when the building belonged to Sobi. Now I am back as part of SciLifeLab, helping get the first operations underway in Beta. So it is facility I know well, although some of the equipment has changed. 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy working with all the different research groups and infrastructures in the building. I like being able to support their work and contribute to life science research through what I do every day.

What do you like to do after putting down your work gloves for the day?

I enjoy exercising and going for walks with my husband, and sometimes I go for a run. I also like spending time with friends and my grandchildren. Keeping active helps me keep up with them!