Category: Uncategorised

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

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

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

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

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

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