Post by Abirami Sritharan

I'm delighted to have achieved a First Class (73%) in my iBSc dissertation in Anatomy, Cell and Developmental Biology at UCL. Over the past year, I had the privilege of undertaking a neuroscience research project in the Wills Lab, investigating how spatial navigation strategies develop across early life. By examining c-Fos expression in the hippocampus and dorsal striatum following a dual-solution navigation task in juvenile and adult rats, I explored how neural activity changes during development and how this may underpin the transition between different navigation strategies. Throughout the project, I gained experience in immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, quantitative image analysis and scientific writing, while developing a much deeper appreciation for experimental neuroscience. This project challenged me in ways I hadn't anticipated. From troubleshooting experiments at the bench to critically analysing findings and placing them within the wider literature, it taught me the importance of resilience, curiosity and rigorous scientific thinking. More than anything, it confirmed just how passionate I am about neuroscience and the potential for research to improve our understanding of the brain. I'm incredibly grateful to have been invited back to the Wills Lab this summer as a paid Research Assistant for UCL, where I'll have the opportunity to continue contributing to this exciting area of research. I'm sincerely thankful to my supervisors and everyone in the lab for their guidance, encouragement and for placing their trust in me throughout this project. Their mentorship has made this one of the most rewarding experiences of my degree so far. As I prepare to return to Year 4 of UCL Medical School, I'm excited to build on everything I've learned this year and continue developing both as a future clinician and researcher. My intercalated year has reinforced my ambition to pursue academic medicine, and I look forward to carrying this passion for neuroscience into the next stage of my medical training. Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this journey. #UCL #MedicalStudent #Neuroscience #AcademicMedicine #Research #UndergraduateResearch #CellBiology #DevelopmentalBiology #WomenInSTEM