Welcome back to Team Insights, where we offer you a chance to get to know a Microbiome Insights team member on a deeper level. For our 11th issue, we present to you Pedro Dimitriu, who contributes greatly to the planning and development of our bioinformatics analysis.
You can connect with him on LinkedIn here.
Hey Pedro, thank you for joining us. This interview has been long overdue, as you are one of the key members on the lab team at Microbiome Insights. Could you describe your role?
A: I analyze data, write reports, and keep my eyes open to new tools, evolving analytical strategies, and conceptual advances in the microbiome field. I currently lead a team that is collaborating with Health Canada to advance the use of multi-omics for risk evaluation of microbial bioproducts.
What interests you most about the area of the microbiome? What do you think will be an important development in the field of microbiome research?
A: The microbiome field fluctuates between irrelevance and producing cutting edge, interdisciplinary science. Keeping in check the former and exploring the latter is what interests me the most. Many recent important developments in the field – for instance, refining how we understand disease-microbiome connections by incorporating evolving notions of statistics – are the result of a happy marriage between technological and conceptual advances.
What do you enjoy most about Microbiome Insights?
A: The camaraderie among team members and the laid back but steady leadership.
What’s the best advice you can give to someone who just started their career?
A: In terms of advice, it’s hard to think about something that doesn’t sound like a cliché, but here it goes: there is always someone who knows less than you, and someone who knows more.
What can you say about your work on the Health Canada contract? How has the process been?
A: The work on the HC contract has given us a unique window into how government scientists and regulators operate, think, and collaborate with others.
What are your passions outside of work?
A: Connecting with nature, friends, and friends in nature; listening and reading about music; cooking. In the before times, dancing Argentine tango.
If you could get a new skill in 10 minutes, what would it be?
A: Learning math.
As we are now almost two full years into the pandemic, how have you made the most of your time working from home?
A: These two years of pandemic have made me rethink how I value time spent with loved ones, including myself.
What’s your favorite music genre?
A: A salad of classical, tango, and jazz, seasoned with many other genres and styles.
What is a book you think everyone should read if they can?
A: “The savage detectives” by Roberto Bolano.
Thank you Pedro, for providing your expert opinions on the field of microbiome research and its applications for the future. Wishing you and the rest of the lab team luck on securing the Health Canada contract!
