Post by Dylan Kotecha

I am delighted to announce that I have graduated from the UCL Immunology, Infection and Cell Pathology intercalated BSc with First Class Honours. I undertook modules in immunology in health and disease, cellular pathology, infectious agents, viruses and disease, and in autoimmune disease, the latter being a topic I have dreamed of studying in detail for many years- it did not disappoint! My dissertation, “Elevated IgA2 anti-dsDNA antibody levels are associated with active SLE”, which I undertook in the Ehrenstein lab, won the “David Katz Award for best Project Presentation” at the department symposium. I would like to thank my lab, Michael Ehrenstein, Muhammad RA Shipa and Dan McCluskey, PhD for a great year in the lab, and the infection and immunity team for some incredible lectures and a great introduction to scientific thinking. I look forward to using the insights into the mechanistic minutiae of infection and inflammation to guide my clinical decision making for the rest of my career, and to building on my newfound love for basic science research in my upcoming MBPhD. This graduation has another layer of significance to me, as I have become the first person in my family to graduate from university. This is not to say that I am underprivileged- both of my parents are incredibly successful in their own right and have given me every opportunity I could have ever asked for- but seeing the look on my parents’ and grandparents’ face when they saw me in my cap and gown for the first time made me incredibly proud. I have been talking about how much I want to be a doctor since I was 8 years old, and the significance of this occasion reminded me that I am currently living my dream. I, like many, continually move my goalposts, and so not giving myself a lot of recognition for where I am, rather looking to where I need to get to. I hope this post serves as a reminder to celebrate your wins, rather than dismissing them.