Dr Darren Logan, Vice President of Research at Mars, Inc

Why did you choose to study here? 

I chose the University of Edinburgh and the MRC Human Genetics Unit for my PhD for a couple of reasons. It was one of the few research centres at the time that offered the opportunity to rotate around labs for a year before choosing the one for your PhD project. I was really keen to experience the "feel" of a lab before making my choice. Secondly, the Institute had some leading labs in the mouse molecular genetics field which, given it was the late 1990s and before any full mammalian genome was sequenced, was a critical approach for understanding the genetic basis of characteristics or diseases. 

What did you study and why? 

After my rotations, I chose to work with Professor Ian Jackson studying the genetics of pigmentation. The coat colour of mice was one of the most studied genetic traits at that time, due to the long history of fancy mouse breeding and the very obvious phenotype. So there were lots of new discoveries emerging and it seemed to capture the imagination of the lay public (and journal editors!).  

I worked on identifying the genetic basis of a mouse dark coat colour mutant, called goth, which provided a great grounding in lots of classical genetic techniques and concepts. As zebrafish had recently been introduced into the institute as a new model organism, I also began to study their pigmentation patterns to investigate the genetics of colour change. Finally, towards the end of my PhD as the first draft genomes started to become available, I began to learn bioinformatics and conducted comparative genomics of pigmentation genes between species. 

What the most rewarding aspect of your time here? 

I was extremely fortunate to have a supervisor who encouraged me to follow my intellectual curiosity. So that opportunity, combined with the diverse research interests within the Institute and highly collaborative culture, meant that it was a highly rewarding environment to conduct research. Two of the three projects I worked on emerged from discussions in the pub with other students or post-docs. Being able to ideate with friends and then work together to explore them was a lot of fun.  

And the most challenging? 

I didn't really have any challenges beyond what most PhD students experience: learning to deal with failed experiments, worrying whether I'll have enough data to graduate, fretting about presentations etc. I found the advice and guidance of the older students at the Institute helped to provide reassurance during moments of self-doubt.

What have you done since completing your course?

I went on to have a pretty traditional academic career path. I moved to the US on a post-doctoral fellowship, which was successful enough to enable me to run my own research lab. I returned to the UK and joined the faculty of the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, where my laboratory applied cutting-edge genomic technologies to study sensory and behavioural genetics. However, after doing that for six years, I was offered an unexpected opportunity to lead a research team in a unique industry-funded research institute focused on improving the health and wellbeing of pets: cats, dogs, fish and horses. That seemed like a great opportunity, so decided to give it a shot. I ended up really enjoying doing discovery research in an industrial setting, and progressed to become head of research for that institute before recently transitioning to lead corporate science for the company - Mars, Inc - where I am currently Vice President of Research. In this role I lead two research institutes, one focused on Food Safety based in China, and the other a virtual institute focused on developing early stage science & technology to tackle global problems and harness emerging opportunities around sustainability, AI, and health & wellbeing.    

How did your time at IGC help you in your career? 

When I reflect on my career to date, I realise two key guiding principles were forged during my time at the Institute. Firstly, to be guided by what interests and inspires you, and don't be afraid to change direction if that is where it takes you. That was how I was trained to do research during my PhD, and I have applied it across my career to pretty good effect. Secondly, that science is a team sport and good communication, personal and collective accountability, encouragement and kindness are critical for high performing teams. The most valuable skill I learned at the IGC was how to collaborate well.  

What are your future career aspirations? 

I am lucky to be in a position today where I can influence the science that underpins the future food, nutrition, snacks and treats consumed by a significant proportion of the world's population, and the food and healthcare of an even greater proportion of the world's pets.  My aspiration is for some of the transformative science we are doing now to have a material positive impact on the lives of people and pets, while measurably reducing our impact on the planet, hopefully within my working career.