Panagiotis Giannos: ‘The MSc further stimulated my intellectual curiosity’

What is your name?

Panagiotis Giannos

Where are you from?

Greece

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2020

Where and what did you study before joining Imperial College London?

I graduated from the University of Brighton with a BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

The course was an intensive, exciting and truly enlightening experience. Intensive because of its approach to knowledge application by emphasising the ability to work independently and as part of a team. Exciting due to its interdisciplinary cohort of students and professionals, which brought a unique set of perspectives and experience in an environment that encourages the exchange of ideas. Most importantly, enlightening through its versatile structure, which provides the opportunity to explore contemporary neuroscience research transcending the boundaries of traditional disciplines

Which research project did you work on?

My project aimed at unveiling the neural circuitry underlying cortical homeostatic control of sleep-preparatory behaviour and subsequently sleep. I conducted my research project under the supervision of Professor William Wisden and Dr Kyoko Tossell at the Franks-Wisden Lab

Where are you now?

I am working towards a PhD in the Department of Life Sciences at Imperial College London under the supervision of Professor William Wisden and Professor Nicholas Franks in the same laboratory in which I did my MSc project

What are you working on?

My PhD analyses how sleep modulation arises from a central hypothalamic hub that is subject to cortico-thalamic control in response to circadian homeostasis. It will likely challenge the notion that sleep regulation simply originates from sleep-wake nuclei in the brainstem; sleep may, instead, constitute a default state of cortico-thalamic circuits

What is the most important lesson you learnt as a Master student?

By focusing on research questions across disciplinary boundaries, this course made me realise that scientific understanding is limited when appraised from the edges of a single discipline

How did the Master programme help you get to where you are now?

Through the creation of an environment where expertise and technology from a diverse array of disciplines meet, the MSc further stimulated my intellectual curiosity. It allowed me to cultivate relevant research skills and a distinct research drive, to develop into a young scientist, to think independently and in a somehow ‘revolutionary’ way, integrating different approaches. Ultimately, this course equipped me adequately and appropriately to explore some of the most exciting challenges in neuroscience