What is your name?
Ana Sofia Narvaez Paliza
Where are you from?
Mexico
To which class do you belong?
MSc in Translational Neuroscience 2024/25
Where and what did you study before joining Imperial College London?
I did a BSc in Biomedical Sciences at King’s College London
How did you find your Master’s experience at the College?
Stimulating, challenging, and inspiring. I had been excited about pursuing this master’s for a very long time. Now that I have finished it, I can say it was so worth it. I did not find the master’s easy, but for me, that was the whole point: I wanted to be challenged! I learnt so much: a wealth of neuroscience knowledge, numerous skills, increased confidence and I made friends!
Which research project did you work on?
I worked at Jackson’s lab at the UKDRI. I investigated whether Alzheimer’s disease resilient individuals (individuals who show no cognitive impairment despite the presence of pathology) have a distinct pathology profile. Specifically, I examined whether certain types of amyloid beta and tau pathology, in higher or lower proportions, are more closely associated with synaptic preservation or compensatory changes. I used human post-mortem brain tissue and techniques such as immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and AI-powered segmentation
Where are you now?
London
What are you working on?
I love research, so I am currently working towards securing funding to pursue a PhD and continue my career as a researcher in the field of neurodegeneration
What is the most important lesson you learnt as a Master’s student?
I learnt about resilience. We sometimes assume that if we put 100% of our effort into something, things will work out because we tried our best. However, experiments can fail, applications can be rejected, and setbacks can occur. So, I really learnt to be resilient and to keep working towards my dreams, because if not now, then when?
How did the Master’s programme help you get to where you are now?
Thanks to the master’s, I feel ready to take on any challenge. I believe the master’s program taught me how to learn more effectively in the future. As a researcher, you never stop learning (which is the awesome part of it), so being ready to learn and take on any challenge is essential. This master’s program prepared me to acquire new skills and tackle challenges and gave me the confidence to do so