Unbottling the Past — BBC Discovery

Imagine you found a copy of the recipe for one of the world's most iconic perfumes? That's exactly what happened to Andrew, and with the BBC travelled to the Osmotheque just outside of Paris to see if he, with a PhD in Chemistry, could remake Ernest Beaux's classic for the first time in decades.

Listen to Unbottling the Past on the BBC Website


What If... We could all become cyborgs? — BBC Discovery

Over 50 years ago, the term cyborg was first used to describe a person whose capabilities were augmented by mechanical or cybernetic parts. Today, mechanical or electronic prosthetic limbs and organs are rapidly changing more and more of our lives. But how far can it, and will it, go? Andrew meets some of those who might describe themselves today as a cyborg. Our bodies are not permanent, and if we lost a limb or an organ, and if we could afford it, we might well think about replacing it with a new device. But what about replacing a perfectly healthy part of your body with a device to give you superhuman powers? What if we could all become cyborgs?

Listen to What If... We could all become cyborgs?


Story Collider

When biologist Andrew Holding's new baby stops feeding, his scientific instincts are put to the test.

Andrew Holding is a Senior Research Associate at Cancer Research UK’s Cambridge Institute and a Fellow of Downing College, Cambridge. His research programme brings together his experience of cutting edge mass spectrometry, DNA and RNA sequencing techniques with computational biology to investigate the function of the nuclear receptors. Andrew has worked on many science outreach and public engagement projects including founding and organising Skeptics in the Pub in Cambridge, which holds monthly talks by various speakers with the aim of highlighting the application of critical thinking and scientific method.

This story originally aired on The Story Collider’s podcast on July 12, 2019, in an episode titled “Concern: Stories about being worried”. Find the transcript and other information here: Story Collider: Being Woried


Live stream for Cancer Research UK

While his colleagues were running and doing 5Ks to support charity, Andrew looked for something different and more suited to his skills to raise money for charity. Accepting his lack of athlietic prowess, Andrew Holding settled on his first ever live-stream for Cancer Research UK.

Playing through Indiana Jones Fate of Atlantis over 5 hours on Twitch, he raised over £300 via JustGiving. You can rewatch Part 1 and Part 2 on YouTube.


Elemental Ideas - Breast Cancer

Cambridge TV's show 'Elemental Ideas' was a local TV show focusing on the current research in Cambridge. Andrew Holding presented an introduction to breast cancer and the role of the oestrogen receptor in the progression of the disease. Andrew also discusses his own research and his hopes it would improve the outcomes for patients with breast cancer.


Innovation Grant Pitch

Grant Pitch for the CRUK Innovation Prize. The pitch was successfully selected for a workshop to discuss the research with experts from Boehringer Ingelheim. Thier Oncology and Immuno-Oncology Experts provided access to their expertise in innovation and business development.


Grant Challenge - Cambridge TV

Cancer Research UK have set out to win The Grand Challenge, a £20m grant towards their research to prevent, diagnose and treat cancer.

Andrew joins Prof Greg Hanon and his research group at the CRUK Cambridge Institute to discover more about his research into generating virtual reality images of patient tumours.



Feeding the World

Finalist in a video competition on the topic of 'How does chemistry keep us healthy' by the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Food is one of the most basic health requirements and amazingly one third of the world's population's food supply is sustained by a single chemical reaction. The factories that use that reaction to make fertiliser, however, use up a huge amount on energy, so is there a way to keep feeding the world without using up natural resources?


Famelab

Andrew's entry in the FameLab heat and final held at the Science Centre in Oxford 2011, which got him to the regional final and led him to work with FameLab and the University of Cambridge to bring the event to Cambridge.