The effect of nanoplastics on the cellular processes of lung epithelial cells

Naseha's project aimed to identify if nanoplastics results in a decrease in cell viability and reduced respiratory protein expression and an increase in inflammation and oxidative stress.

What have you enjoyed most about doing this research project?

I have enjoyed learning new laboratory skills, for example Western Blot and ELISA.

Were there any challenges?

There was trouble at times detecting bands on the western blot and in the development of nanoplastics.

How have the modules throughout the year impacted/influenced your knowledge and skillset for your project?

I have greatly developed in my presentation skills from the modules that have helped with improving my presentation skills for the project presentation assessment.

What advice would you give to an incoming student to the GDS programme?

I would advise to pay attention in all of your lectures and enjoy the tasks set.

What are your plans when you finish this programme? Has your research project impacted what you intend to do after the programme in any way?

I am planning to find a job within science and technology after this programme. The research project has piqued my interest in engineering and pushed time to apply for a job within this field.

Host directed therapies 

Fatima's project focuses on Host directed therapies - an alternative approach to combating viral respiratory tract infections. It aims to investigate if a host-directed drug known as apilimod is less likely to induce mutants after repeated passages seasonal CoV (229E) compared to nirmatrelvir which is an ant-viral agent.

What have you enjoyed most about doing this research project?

I get to more involved in an interactive environment so I am constantly learning, solving problems, and tackling new challenges so I never get bored.

Were there any challenges?

Time has always been a major issue. As research takes time and human error occurs more often with lab-based projects, it would have been better to have more time so that I could apply learning from my mistakes and therefore produce better data. It is quite unlikely that I will be able to generate the data I need to prove my hypothesis. Nevertheless, the past month has been very productive for me and I was able to gain a lot from my experience here.

How have the modules throughout the year impacted/influenced your knowledge and skillset for your project?

The infectious diseases module allowed me to understand the epidemiological impact of these diseases and why novel interventions are needed to prevent the rise of drug resistance.

What advice would you give to an incoming student to the GM programme?

Appreciate and take your time in learning the skills that that they offer in this programme. If you are working in a lab-based setting, it is important to remember that most groundbreaking data came from spending hours of doing trial and error research.

What are your plans when you finish this programme? Has your research project impacted what you intend to do after the programme in any way?

I am planning in entering the NHS Scientist Training Programme to hopefully become a genetic counsellor. The research project has enabled me to improve my written work and I learned how to communicate my data findings so that the audience can see the significance of it. The research project has also greatly increased my interest in infectious diseases so that is also another route which I am interested in.

Xiaoheng's project aims to investigate whether nanocellulose can induce pyroptosis in human macrophages and lung epithelial cells via the NLRP3/caspase-1/GSDMD pathway.

What have you enjoyed most about doing this research project?

I enjoy developing my hypothesis and learning new experiments.

Were there any challenges?

The biggest challenge for me is that the results are not what I expected at the begining. I need to search more to find the potential reasons. It could be the problems caused by experimental technique itself, or other factors that may influence the hypothesis

How have the modules throughout the year impacted/influenced your knowledge and skillset for your project?

I learned Western blot in the advanced pharmacology module, which I used a lot in my project.

What advice would you give to an incoming student to the GDS programme?

I would advise everyone to develop your independent study skills as this is needed throughout the project module.

What are your plans when you finish this programme? Has your research project impacted what you intend to do after the programme in any way?

I will start my PhD programme at University of New South Wales next year. The critical thinking, techniques, and writing skills I learned from my project will help my future PhD research.

Leptin induces oxidative stress and inflammation in lung epithelial cells through PGC-1α downregulation

Afraa's project aims to identify a new pathway which could be a potential therapeutic target against obesity.

What have you enjoyed most about doing this research project?

I have enjoyed working side by side with great scientists and learning from them. Developing a new set of lab skills from them and interpreting my results and see how they fit with my hypothesis.

Were there any challenges?

There were plenty but that’s what makes your work worthwhile. You might feel like you have a lot of submissions and only a little time until their due dates but organizing your time and rearranging your priorities is one skill you will develop along the way; you will become an expert.

You might find that some experiments in your project will not go as expected; do not worry, always have a plan B, it is science after all, trial and error is its essence.

How have the modules throughout the year influenced your knowledge and skillset for your project?

The modules on the GDS programme prepared us through plenty of tasks in order to be able to carry out a research project independently and successfully.

What advice would you give to an incoming student to the GDS programme?

Learn as much as you can, enjoy it and your days in London and do not be intimidated by whatever people tell you, everyone has their own experience and so do you.

What are your plans when you finish this programme?

I hope to pursue a PhD degree.