Actual Living Scientist – Kylie Bruner

It recently came to our attention, from this article, that only one in three Americans can name an actual living scientist. As a large biotechnology company, filled with talented and dedicated scientists, we think that is ridiculous. We want to introduce you to some of our staff who are, in fact, Actual Living Scientists.

The next scientist in our series is Kylie Bruner. Kylie has been with Bio-Techne for just under 1 year at the R&D Systems site (and Bio-Techne Headquarters) in Minneapolis, MN. Kylie works in our Proteins Purification Department, which is the starting point for many of the high quality products in the R&D Systems portfolio. Kylie received her Bachelors of Science in Biomedical Sciences from Saint Cloud State University in 2016. Let’s learn a little bit more about Kylie:

Name: Kylie Bruner
Position: Research Associate 1
Department: 374 (Protein Purification)
Years with Bio-Techne: < 1 year, (~9 months)

Why did you pursue a career in science? (or a career that led you to Bio-Techne)
I pursued a career in science because I wanted to be a part of a field that is constantly growing, changing and evolving. The people in the scientific community are also what drew me to a career in science. They are some of the most passionate, enthusiastic, hardworking and dedicated people I’ve ever met. I also wanted a career that allowed me to learn something new every day, at Bio-Techne, that’s what I get to do.

How would you explain your job duties to Jimmy Fallon?
It starts with getting handed over a container with cells (or media) that was created to make a bunch of a certain kind of protein (protein as in the stuff that initiates things such as immune responses, or for example like Insulin). I then run this media material through a column that contains resin (which somewhat acts like a filter) that allows me to separate out a single protein from the many that were in the container I was initially handed. I then pass the purified protein onto someone else for it to get bottled and shipped out to a customer.

How do you feel your work contributes to the betterment of society?
Our products go on to places like the MD Anderson Center, Harvard and the National Institutes of Health, and to have a small part in what they are doing at those places in advancing science and our understanding of diseases by using some of our products is pretty awesome.

Who is/was a scientific influence in your life or career?
I would say the person with the most influence was my mentor/advisor at SCSU, Dr. Marina Cetkovic-Cvrlje. She taught me all I know about immunology, research, problem solving, and how struggling is a good thing because it means that you are trying. She pushed me into a lot of situations that I grew immensely from and would not have had the chance to do if it was not for her. She is also the one who understood how much I enjoyed immunology and biochemistry and suggested I apply for a job at Bio-Techne.

We are proud to have Kylie on the Bio-Techne team as one of our many Actual Living Scientists.