1+3 Student
In 2017 I graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Bsc in Biomedical Sciences, with Honours in Neuroscience. During my undergraduate degree I completed research projects on seizures in Alzheimer’s Disease and on the development of the auditory system, using mice and fruit flies respectively. However, during my final year I realised that my true interests lie in the field of neurodevelopmental disorders, and especially in the autism spectrum disorder research.
King’s College is a long way from Scotland, but I was drawn to it due to the excellent Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neurosience (IoPPN), since I loved the clinically-driven research focus of the autism researchers here.
The 1+3 pathway offered by the MRC DTP programme allowed me to widen my scientific perspective by learning new skills such as neuroimaging. It will also allow me a great deal of insight and flexibility when it comes to choosing my PhD project. Thanks to my rotation year, I will be able to work with my rotation supervisors to plan a dream PhD project that combines my experience in neurobiology and animal models with my interest in human neuroimaging. It makes me incredibly excited to start my PhD!
Another important reason for why I chose MRC DTP was a positive interview experience, which convinced me that the MRC DTP management team is well-organised and very supportive of their students. After 6 months into the programme, I can say that this prediction turned out to be completely accurate.
Rotation Projects:
- How fronto-striatal connectivity correlates with proneness to positive moral rewards.
- The effects of an atypical antidepressant tianeptine on the behaviour of autism-like model mice.
- The effects of serotonergic system manipulation on the cerebral blood flow in autism spectrum disorder.