Wirral, England, United Kingdom
Now going into my fourth year as a Biochemistry undergraduate at Somerville College at the University of Oxford, I am extremely proud of what I have been able to achieve across my time in Oxford. So far, I have ranked first in my year across my First Preliminary Examinations, then being awarded the highly prestigious Margaret Thatcher Undergraduate scholarship for academic excellence the following year, covering all course and living fees for the duration of my degree. On top of my degree, I also achieved a Distinction in the Chemical Pharmacology supplementary subject and have been admitted onto the competitive AMGEN Scholars Program to study T cell mechanobiology. All of these accolades have been driven by my fierce interest in pursuing a PhD, and throughout this process I have developed a strong interest in immuno-oncology, particularly how mechanical and biophysical forces impact immune cells in disease states. I hope to direct such interest towards research that can translate a better understanding of such principles into effective therapies in the clinic.
I have been tutoring at Leading Education for a few months now and have gained valuable skills that I will need and throughout my career. Some key highlights include: • Created personalised lessons to both support and challenge students at different academic standards • Communicated effectively and overcame language barriers to best explain challenging concepts • Provided high quality feedback leading to cumulative improvement from lesson to lesson
Across the last week I had the opportunity to do something I have always wanted to do: make a difference to the lives of cancer patients. I did this working for Vann, an innovative Oxford health start-up looking to create a communication bridge between clinicians and cancer patients. Here are some of the highlights of my micro-internship: • Was tasked with conducting extensive research in the area of cancer immunotherapy and its current impact on patients, as well as how research aims to improve the current standard of care; • Produced a 10k-word report discussing the current cancer immunotherapy landscape, including mechanistic detail, current approved therapeutics, research focus, and challenges for the future; • My work is being used to provide a better standard of information sharing with cancer patients.
Genome Engineering Oxford Internship I spent a week shadowing at the GEO facility, getting involved in their work to optimise the application of CRISPR prime editing to treat rare genetic diseases. Some of the key skills I learnt this week include: • Learnt and applied cell culture techniques, resulting in the successful transfection of GFP-labelled spCas9 into HEK293 cell lines, as seen in the green foci below • Built on molecular cloning experience including rolling circle amplification and electroporation of isolated DNA in addition to mini/midipreps analysed through digests and gels • Helped in fluorescence activated cell sorting (FACS) experiment and data analysis, where a false-positive result could be identified when comparing FACS results to plasmid sequences • Learnt prime editor guide RNA design and approaches to optimise prime editing to improve the efficacy of this potential therapeutic approach to treat rare genetic diseases