About

Hello, my name is Piyakrit, but please call me Eng!

I am an intern at the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), Thailand, working within the Genomic Medicine division at the Department of Medical Sciences (DMSc). Here, I am working on various projects within Genomics Thailand (Facebook) - from developing bioinformatics pipelines, performing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) to variant interpretation for genetic diseases, such as breast cancer. All of this was new to me, but I found this endeavour immensely satisfying to learn!

Prior to this, I worked on single-cell image analysis of differentiating human embryonic stem cells with Rafael Carazo-Salas at the University of Bristol. The project involved extracting biology features (cell cycle, marker expression, migration patterns) to quantitatively determine differentiated cells from stem cells.

cell_migration
Cell migration is a community effort. Pictured is a timelapse of differentiating human embryonic stem cells across 5 days. Nuclei visualised by H2B staining.

For my MSc, I took on an experimental project in parasitology with Jeremy Mottram and Joana Faria at the University of York. Here, I explored an orthologue of the Trypanosoma brucei Variant Surface Glycoprotein (VSG) exclusion factor-1/2 (VEX1 & VEX2) in Leishmania mexicana. What was interesting about this? L. mexicana do not undergo antigenic variation, whereas T. brucei do and the ‘switching’ of the VSG coat is primarily controlled by the VEX proteins, yet the L. mexicana counterpart shares a common functional domain from the Upf-1 family RNA:DNA helicase. This study sought to identify whether the localisation and interactions of Leishmania “VEX” is conserved.

A co-transcriptional complex? Fluorescence visualisation of Leishmania "VEX2" (mCherry-tagged) and "VEX1" (mNeonGreen-tagged), a component of the splice leader array body (SLAB).

Through these experiences, I developed an appreciation for topics intersecting molecular cell biology, genetics, and bioinformatics. I am searching for research opportunities within these areas.

Volunteering

I enjoy volunteering, experiences include:

Health volunteer - visited the elderly and chronically ill patients to check on their well-being.

survey1

Biodiversity Survey for Rowntree Park to address issues arising from flooding. I investigated plant species and soil conditions within the park’s Pollinator Project.

survey1 survey2
Two sides of the coin: weeds may be invasive but they contribute to the ecosystem. Pollinators do not discriminate!

Tutor - assisted primary school students in subjects such as Mathematics, English and Norwegian.

Fieldwork

Cyanobacteria and Seasonality - IB extended essay project linking the effects of cyanobacterial growth and seasonal changes in Norwegian lakes.
Ocean Acidification - IB Biology coursework where I collected seashells in Southern Thailand to determine how seawater acidity degrades calcium carbonate structural composition.

Updated: May 2025