MRC National Institute for Medical Research, London
Science for Health
Student profile - Andrea
I am a second year PhD student at NIMR. I was born in Giessen which is a small town in the middle of Germany not far away from Frankfurt/Main, and grew up in an even smaller village between Giessen and Marburg. Growing up in a small village I was always very fascinated with biology, nature and how to preserve the environment. That’s why I decided to study biology, initially focusing on general biology but quickly realising that I was interested in malaria. After a three month job in Tanzania and suffering from malaria myself, I wanted to know more about the disease and why it is so difficult to develop drugs and vaccines against it. That’s why I decided to do my BSc and a nine month undergraduate project in malaria research at the University of Marburg.
I then went to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine to complete a Masters in Molecular Biology of Parasites and Disease Vectors which taught me that malaria might be a deadly parasitic disease, but certainly not the only one. I continued my research on malaria during my Masters project, and for me there was no question as to whether I wanted to stay in malaria research, as I still felt I hardly understood anything about the causes of malaria.
I knew about NIMR before I applied for a PhD. The Division of Parasitology is highly regarded in the field of malaria research and I was very excited when I realised there were PhDs available that I could apply for, especially with projects I have been interested in before and wanted to work on.
The interview for my PhD was a very exciting day. The Institute and especially the people that work here appeared very friendly and that’s why I was so happy when I got my PhD offer, and accepted immediately. My PhD project in Mike Blackman’s laboratory is based around a putative malarial protease called SERA6 which is essential for the survival of the malarial parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. I am aiming to characterise SERA6 by firstly addressing its putative proteolytic properties.
One year into my PhD I can say that NIMR is an institute of outstanding research and the work environment makes it easy to travel up to Mill Hill in the mornings. I couldn’t have had a better start in our lab and I am really looking forward to the next two years and what they will bring. It is always scary to start work at a new place but the people in the Institute and our lab made it very easy to feel comfortable to work and enjoy my time as a PhD student. To be honest I don’t really know what I will be doing once I have finished. I think it's difficult to decide what to work on in the future as I still have two years to go in my PhD.
© MRC National Institute for Medical Research
The Ridgeway, Mill Hill, London NW7 1AA
Top of page