Lasers, Ivory & Unexpected Entrepreneurship | The Enterprise Sessions with Dr Rebecca Shepherd

Lasers, Ivory & Unexpected Entrepreneurship | The Enterprise Sessions with Dr Rebecca Shepherd

From ResearchPod by ResearchPod

April 29, 2026 · 49 min

About this episode

Dr Rebecca Shepherd discusses her journey from NHS histology labs to becoming an ivory identification expert and entrepreneur.

In this episode of Enterprise Sessions from the University of Bristol, Professor Michele Barbour speaks with Dr Rebecca Shepherd, Senior Lecturer in Anatomy, whose unconventional journey from NHS histology labs to ivory identification expert has sparked a thriving research‑led enterprise. What began as an enthusiastic promise to TV anatomist Professor Alice Roberts during a book‑tour lunch has since evolved into a sophisticated service using Raman spectroscopy and machine learning to distingu...

People in this episode

Host: Professor Michele Barbour

Guest: Dr Rebecca Shepherd

Topics covered

  • entrepreneurship
  • anatomy
  • Raman spectroscopy
  • machine learning
  • ivory identification
  • research-led enterprise

Keywords

  • lasers
  • ivory
  • entrepreneurship
  • Raman spectroscopy
  • machine learning
  • anatomy
  • research

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Bristol, NHS

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