This Pride month we held an internal Pride talk with our BioTalent team in the London HQ, with guest speaker Mirasbek Kuterbekov. Mirasbek is a Senior Scientist at Hoxton Farms, where he combines his passion for animal welfare with his expertise in tissue engineering to create the most delicious slaughter-free animal fat. Prior to this, he was a Senior Research Specialist at The Dow Chemical Company as part of their Research Assignment Program working on a wide range of projects from plastics recycling to tech scouting. Originally from Kazakhstan, Mirasbek had the opportunity to study and work in the US, Germany, Belgium, France and the Netherlands before his most recent relocation to London, UK. He has been active in several LGBTQAI+ organisations throughout his career and is currently a Director at the OUTbio UK, an independent network run specifically for the LGBTQAI+ professionals and their allies within the biotech community in the UK.
MIrasbek talked to us about experiences of being LGBTQIA+ in biotech, why representation in the workplace matters. He uncovered strategies businesses can make to be more inclusive, how to overcome internalised homophobia and call-out culture, in addition to the power of allyship.