Alumni Brains

What is your name?

Alexandra Rother

Where are you from?

Munich, Germany

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2018

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

BSc Molecular Biotechnology at the Technical University of Munich

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

While it was an intense year, I learnt a lot, beyond subject-related matters, and I met amazing people, including close friends

Which research project did you work on?

I worked on a project about a mutation in familial Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the Laboratory headed by Professor Jacqueline de Belleroche

Where are you now? 

I am a PhD student in the Denk Lab at the Max-Planck-Institute of Neurobiology in Germany

What are you working on?

In my PhD project, I am focusing on songbird connectomics and on how songbirds learn their species-specific song. I am using electron microscopic data to analyse the brain circuit responding to song learning on a synaptic level. Additionally, my PhD also involves work on sample preparation for the electron microscope

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

To never give up and use the opportunity to learn new skills as you might end up liking them. For me, that was the case when I was introduced to coding and computational neuroscience where I was surprised how much I actually enjoyed it

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

As mentioned above, it made me realize that I also enjoyed analysis outside of the lab, giving me a few basic programming skills that I am expanding in my PhD now. Also, my BSc programme was very general, so the MSc programme gave me Neuroscience-specific knowledge. My wet-lab and independent working skills improved during my Master’s thesis, while presentation skills developed throughout the general course, as did my English. Overall, learning so many new things within this year gave me the confidence to start my PhD in a more fundamental neurobiological subject, namely quite different from what I worked on previously

Read Alexandra Rother: ‘My wet-lab and independent working skills improved during my Master’s thesis’ in full

What is your name?

Carolina (Lena) Beppi

Where are you from?

I was born in Livorno, Tuscany, in 1994, from Italian and English parents

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2018

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

I obtained a B.Sc. in Psychology, Clinical and Cognitive Neuroscience from Royal Holloway, University of London, in Egham (Surrey)

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

Studying at a top-ranked and most respected academic institution in the world, in the heart of a dynamic and culturally diversified metropolis, is an appealing welcome card. This may induce high expectations, excitement and perhaps fright to an arriving student at Imperial College. The Master course has been a journey of continuous academic and personal growth. Learning from the brightest staff while studying with highly capable coursemates rendered it a challenging, yet stimulating, enriching and pleasant experience

Which research project did you work on?

My research project focused on neuromodulatory approaches in human cognition, and was supervised by Dr Adam Hampshire, Dr Nir Grossman, Dr Stefano Sandrone and Dr Inês R. Violante. We aimed at modulating response-inhibition performance in a ‘stop-signal task’ by manipulating the onset of the task’s visual stimuli relative to the phase of the ongoing EEG oscillatory signal

Where are you now? 

I live in Zürich, Switzerland, where I am pursuing a PhD in Neuroscience

What are you working on?

I am working on different projects that involve animal modelling and experimentation, clinical data-analysis, and diagnostic tests and therapies in concussion. My ultimate aim is to understand the relation between cognition and physiology to develop approaches for improving health and well-being

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

There may be some challenging moments during the Master. My constant reminder was that no remarkable achievement is obtained without effort, dedication and perseverance

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

The Master programme has prepared me to pursue my doctoral studies, personally and professionally. The cutting-edge biomedical research context and extremely competent staff have stimulated my curiosity, expanding my knowledge, but also trained my critical thinking and technical competences. The social environment has been a unique opportunity to get inspired, to question and to push me, developing determination and resilience

Read Carolina (Lena) Beppi: ‘A challenging, yet stimulating, enriching and pleasant experience’ in full

What is your name?

Joanna Kuc

Where are you from?

Gdansk, Poland

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019

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

BSc Pharmacology at Nottingham Trent University

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

The course was demanding and inspiring. Having an opportunity to work alongside world-class researchers, as well as being surrounded by other students who genuinely share your passion, creates a perfect environment where you can become creative and develop your interests

Which research project did you work on?

“Psychedelic experience modulated by cannabis usage: results of a large-scale prospective survey” at the Centre for Psychedelic Research under the supervision of Dr Robin Carhart-Harris and Dr David Erritzoe

Where are you now? 

I am now working as a Research Associate for COMPASS Pathways, a company dedicated to developing novel treatments for mental health, with the main focus being Psilocybin Therapy for treatment-resistant depression  

What are you working on?

I am mostly involved in the design of clinical trials using novel approaches, such as apps for the mobile phone, to monitor the mental health of patients through digital phenotyping, alongside the core treatment programme

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

For an aspiring researcher, it is important to be surrounded by people who share your passion. This will allow you to learn from them and become independent when progressing through your career

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

I am sure I would not have ended up where I am now without attending the Master course at Imperial College. Apart from gaining a comprehensive understanding of modern neuroscience and computational skills, I had an opportunity to work in the Centre for Psychedelic Research led by Dr Robin Carhart-Harris. My current work is directly linked to developing psychedelics as novel tools to be used in psychiatry, and I think the work at the Centre has definitely prepared me well for my current role

Read Joanna Kuc: ‘I am sure I would not have ended up where I am now without attending the Master’ in full

What is your name?

Danielle Lauren Kurtin

Where are you from?

A sleepy fishing town called Stuart, in Florida, USA

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019

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

I completed my BSc in Biological Sciences with a minor in Chemistry at Florida State University in hopes of attending medical school. During the long application period to medical school, I worked in Amsterdam at the Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. Inspired by the neuroscience research I was exposed to, I wanted to continue on a research trajectory, and applied to the MSc Translational Neuroscience!

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

Inspiring, deeply educational, and transformative

Which research project did you work on?

I worked with Dr Lucia Li in the Computational, Cognitive, and Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory (C3NL). I explored specific parameters of a tool called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) applied to patients with traumatic brain injury

Where are you now? 

I am now completing my PhD at the University of Surrey, in partnership with Imperial College London

What are you working on?

I am working on many projects! I have developed a cognitive task to collect behavioral data online before performing neuroimaging experiments with EEG and fMRI. I am writing a review on different models of neural network dynamics. I organize the Monthly Mini Hacks (MMH) workshops through the Surrey Reproducibility Society. I also contribute to the ‘Adapt to Postgrad’ online pre-arrival course for incoming Faculty of Medicine Master’s students commencing study at the College

What is the most important lesson you learnt as a Master student?
Getting comfortable with being uncomfortable. During my MSc, I learned how to be comfortable despite not knowing all the answers, tear my results apart to make sure they are rock-solid, and learn more every day

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

My Master program helped me in several ways. I was taught by scientists and clinicians who are leaders in their field. I learnt the practical skills necessary to conduct research, especially for fMRI data analysis: there is no substitute for practical experience, and my project definitely provided a rich learning experience. In addition to this, it was the first exposure I had to the University structure. I was grateful to be a class representative, and subsequently, one of the Postgraduate Representatives for the Faculty of Medicine Board of Education. This allowed me to observe and learn how an educational institution is developed, guided, and supported by academics dedicated to providing a stellar education to their postgraduates students. Last, but certainly not least, my Master is what confirmed I wanted to pursue a career in academia, and the reason I am now completing my PhD!

Picture credit: Andy Pritchard

Read Danielle Lauren Kurtin: ‘I was taught by scientists and clinicians who are leaders in their field’ in full

What is your name? 

Leire Melgosa Ecenarro

Where are you from? 

The Basque Country

To which class you belong to? 

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019

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

I did my undergraduate degree in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology at the University of The Basque Country

How did you find your Master experience at the College? 

It was quite an intense experience, both academically and personally. The MSc indeed required a lot of my time and effort, but I do consider that it was worth it: I learnt a great deal about various aspects of neuroscience and developed skills which will help me further my career. Apart from the purely academic side, I think that the community at Imperial offers many opportunities for leisure and self-development, which are an excellent choice for when you get a bit of spare time

Which research project did you work on? 

I conducted my project in the Barnes Lab, which belongs to the UK Dementia Research Institute (UKDRI) at Imperial, focusing on age-related changes in homeostatic plasticity mechanisms of the cortex

Where are you now?

I decided to stay in the Barnes lab after finishing my MSc, and I am currently doing my PhD at the College, supervised by Dr Sam Barnes and Dr Johanna Jackson

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

Building on the knowledge I acquired during my undergraduate studies, during the Master I learnt how to better integrate information from different disciplines and use my skills to target specific scientific questions

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

In general, it gave a basis in neuroscience and helped me develop many skills I can now apply to my research. Besides, it allowed me to discover the field of brain plasticity and to work alongside excellent researchers within a world-leading institution

Read Leire Melgosa Ecenarro: ‘I learnt how to better integrate information from different disciplines’ in full

What is your name?

Elijah Tang

Where are you from?

I am originally from Singapore

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2019

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

I graduated from the National University of Singapore, with a BSc (Hons) in Life Science. I specialized in Biomedical Sciences and also did a minor in Psychological Sciences.

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

Overall, the Master experience has been beneficial; for me, more on the personal and career development aspect than on the general academic side. Even though there are modules to complete during the academic phase of the course, they were structured to prime students for the actual research field. Coupled with the six months of the research project, it was a useful bridge for the few students without proper research experience

Which research project did you work on?

I was working on characterising the effects of blood-brain barrier dysfunction (more specifically, the destruction of the neurovascular unit) during Alzheimer’s disease progression. During my MSc project, I was very lucky to work under the supervision of Dr David Owen (aka “Microglia-guy” from the lecture series) and Dr Amy Smith

Where are you now? 

Still within the Imperial College London circle, as I am currently pursuing my PhD in the Department of Bioengineering, under the supervision of Dr Periklis Pantazis

What are you working on?

I have temporarily paused my endeavours for hard-core neuroscience research and took on the challenge of cellular mechanics. Simply, my PhD research involves the investigation of how cellular mechanics (specifically Piezo1 activities) affect early stages of heart development

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

To always say “Yes” to opportunities – especially those that come directly to you. Be it good or bad, there is always a learning outcome from the opportunities presented to you. Given how short the MSc course duration is and how fast time can go pass by, it would have been a waste to give up opportunities being presented professionally and socially

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

Not only this MSc program has enriched my research experience, but it also trained and equipped me with proper working etiquettes for research in academia. I was fortunate to have worked with committed and well-rounded researchers and been mentored by several experts in the neuropathology research. This has opened up my eyes to the importance of collaborative-working and knowledge-sharing in the academic field. Overall, my experience has given me the confidence to be in control of my current and future projects

Read Elijah Tang: ‘It would have been a waste to give up opportunities being presented professionally and socially’ in full

What is your name?

Elisavet Velentza-Almpani

Where are you from?

Greece

To which class you belong to?

MSc Translational Neuroscience, Class of 2018

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

I studied Biology at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, in Greece

How did you find your Master experience at the College?

Studying Translational Neuroscience was a quite interesting and challenging experience for me

Which research project did you work on?

I performed my MSc dissertation in the Laboratory of Gene Therapy, under the supervision of Prof. Nicholas Mazarakis. The project was focused on the comparison of the retrograde axonal transport efficiency of physiological and synthetic rabies virus glycoproteins as well as in the establishment of a viral vector-based model of Parkinson’s disease

Where are you now? 

I am still in London to continue my studies

What are you working on?

I am a second-year PhD student at the College. I am working in the Laboratory of Neuroanatomy and Neurophysiology and the Laboratory of Gene Therapy

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

To never give up and let the tough competition challenge your potential. I faced a lot of difficulties at the beginning of the degree, especially with the language, the assessments, the antagonism etc. But by the end of it, I became more confident, independent and stronger

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

It helped me to acquire a strong knowledge in the field of Neuroscience and to be equipped with various skills and laboratory techniques. I had the chance to meet and work with scientists that supported me and helped me to be where I am today

Read Elisavet Velentza-Almpani: ‘I became more confident, independent and stronger’ in full