Decoding Fibrosis: How Jo-Anne Wilson’s COSBI Experience Paved Her Path from Academia to Industry

We spoke with Jo-Anne Wilson, a former UCL and COSBI student

During her PhD at UCL, Jo-Anne Wilson, PhD joined COSBI for a three-month placement, under the supervision of Silvia Parolo, to deepen her expertise in single-cell RNA-Seq analysis. That experience proved pivotal, leading to a joint publication and shaping her decision to pursue a fully computational career. Today, she’s a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at GSK, applying transcriptomic methods to better understand respiratory diseases, immunology, and inflammation.
We interview Jo-Anne Wilson, PhD about her carrier and she shared how her time at COSBI helped her bridge the gap between academia and industry. Let’s hear what the COSBI experience taught her.

1) How did your research experience at COSBI complement your PhD studies at UCL, and what key skills did you take away from it?

“Although my placement at COSBI lasted just three months, it was instrumental in helping me develop the skills I needed to tackle a key question in my research: What defines an activated fibroblast in lung fibrosis? With the guidance and support of the COSBI team, I built expertise in single-cell RNA-Seq analysis, which allowed me to integrate bulk RNA-Seq data from my PhD at UCL with publicly available single-cell datasets. This work ultimately produced key plots that were included in a joint scientific publication. The placement broadened my analytical skillset and gave me greater confidence in applying these skills across different research contexts.”

2) What was the most exciting or valuable part of your time at COSBI, and how did it influence your career path?

“My time at COSBI was invaluable because it gave me the opportunity to fully immerse myself in computational biology. During my PhD, I split my time between the wet lab and data analysis, but at COSBI I was able to focus entirely on computational methods. That focus gave me the clarity and confidence to pursue fully computational roles once I returned to the UK, and it strongly influenced the direction of my career.”

3) In your current role at GSK, do you apply any of the data analysis or modeling techniques you explored during your PhD or COSBI internship?

“Definitely. In my current role as a Senior Bioinformatics Scientist at GSK, I use a range of transcriptomic methods to deepen our understanding of respiratory diseases, immunology, and inflammation. Many of the analytical foundations I developed during my PhD and at COSBI remain directly relevant to the work I do every day.”

4) If you had to describe your journey from academia to GSK in three words, what would they be and why?

“Benchwork, Manuscript Revisions, Pipelines. The last year of my PhD was a real mix of wrapping up key lab experiments (including plenty of qPCR), manuscript revisions for papers and thesis chapters, and ultimately landing my current role where I apply data analysis pipelines.”

5) What advice would you give to young researchers considering a transition from academic research to industry?

“I was fortunate to have a supportive supervisor who encouraged me to take on two placements during my PhD-experiences that were invaluable for developing my skills and exploring different work environments. My advice is: Seek out internships or placements whenever possible. They’re a great way to expand your horizons and better understand where your strengths and interests lie.”

Thanks Jo-Anne for sharing your story and inspiring future scientists!
Read Jo-Anne’s publication here.