Post by Dylan Kotecha

I am excited to announce that I have been awarded a place on the prestigious UCL MBPhD programme! This will allow me to complete a 3 or 4 year, fully funded PhD at a lab of my choosing integrated into my medicine degree, between my 4th and 5th year. I am really looking forward to the opportunity to spend dedicated time developing my scientific research skills, following my time in the Ehrenstein lab, and am hoping to make a high impact discovery using this platform. The programme also entails a weekly journal club with fellow MBPhD students, and clinical teaching to maintain my clinical competencies. I would like to extend a few thank you’s for help with the rigorous application process. Thank you to Vishal Rawji and Catherine Storm MBPhD for introducing me to the programme and highlighting its merits and drawbacks, as well as guiding me through the application and interview. Thank you to the Ehrenstein lab, Michael Ehrenstein and Muhammad RA Shipa, and the I&I team, Professor Milne and Mahdad Noursadeghi, for guiding me through my first foray into science and providing me with invaluable advice, both regarding science and applying to the programme. Thank you to Aryan Arora and Laura Tavares for providing insight into a student’s perspective on the MBPhD, and a lot of their time and help with my application and interview preparation. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to my parents for supporting me throughout everything I do, and enabling me to go after my dreams like this!