Post by Alisa Ivanov

I just wanted to write a post in appreciation of the past 9 weeks I have spent at the UCL Cancer Institute in the Mansour Lab doing an immuno-oncology research project. I was so grateful that my application for the Rani Rawji Studentship was successful and I was sponsored by Shionogi & Co., Ltd to be involved in research. This being my first exposure to research I have learnt so much, from the science and wet lab skills to the dynamics of a lab and the importance of personal skills like communication, perseverance and teamwork when doing research. I was so grateful to be guided by an amazing supervisor Laura T Morton, and was able to work with Laura to help optimise a novel antigenic reporter for T-cell epitope discovery. I was able to learn so many wet lab skills like making a virus vector, transductions and transfections, cell culture techniques, flow cytometry, data analysis, Western blotting and PCR to name just a few. Alongside the wet lab, as I was sponsored by Shionogi, I also had meetings with Shionogi members who taught me a range of topics, ranging from drug discovery and immuno-oncology to the Japanese seasons, cuisine and their school system. I want to say a massive thank you to the Rani Rawji Studentship, Marc Mansour, Laura, Shionogi and everybody else I worked with in the lab. You really have given me an amazing first insight into research and I look forward to doing more in the future.