Centre for Biomedical Science Research

"I started my PhD in 2018 centred around the use of extracellular vesicles as a drug delivery system. During my time at Leeds Beckett University, I gained valuable practical skills in a range of disciplines including molecular biology, cell biology, and microbiology. In my second and third year I was also able to travel to national and international conferences to present my work. As part of the PhD programme at LBU, I had the opportunity to work as a part-time lecturer, gaining invaluable hands-on experience in a role I was passionate about pursuing.

"After graduating from my degree, I secured a fixed-term lecturing role that ultimately led to a permanent position. I am now link-tutor on a Sino-UK teaching partnership that involves yearly trips to China with LBU PhD students to deliver a Biomedical Science teaching experience."

"My PhD thesis was titled “The role of cancer associated fibroblast small extracellular vesicles (EVs) in melanoma and tumour microenvironment development”. My project taught me lots of new research techniques, including EV isolation, a variety of RNA and protein isolation and characterisation methods, and a selection of cell phenotypic assays. I also gained experience in leadership and mentoring, where I supported multiple undergraduate and masters students with their projects, alongside demonstrating in practicals."

"I am now a product development technologist in a university spinout company at the University of Nottingham called PeptiMatrix™, creating and testing peptide hydrogels designed for 3D cell culture, offering an alternative to animal use in scientific research. Whilst 3D spheroid and organoid cell culture was not something I had experience with during my PhD, many key skills gained in cell culture assays were transferable and allowed me to master new methodologies easily. Since starting at PeptiMatrix™, I have led the development of new hydrogel products to try and mimic different healthy and diseased tissue. I am also lucky enough to get to travel the world to meet clients and present at conferences, as well as create media marketing content for the company. My PhD not only gave me the lab skills needed for a job like mine, but also skills in presenting, creating scientific posters, project managing and problem solving that are critical for industry."

"My PhD was interdisciplinary, comprising computational biology and biochemistry. I developed a simulation of cell wall synthesis in E. coli and this was then validated and tested in vitro with a tuneable CRISPRi system. The computational models can additionally be used as a guide for drug discovery as they can identify the most susceptible enzyme within a pathway. The model has been used successfully to identify 2 new antimicrobial agents which are currently in pre-clinical development. I now work as a senior scientist for a drug discovery company where I am developing antibiotics for targets identified with the computational work, and trying to get funding to go after more."

"My PhD thesis was titled 'Are Formyl Peptide Receptors involved in neurogenesis? Novel in vitro and in silico investigations.' Within this I conducted techniques such as cell culture, differentiation assays, bioinformatics and PCR. I was very fortunate to collaborate with Animal Free Research UK during this time where I supported a former undergraduate student with a 12-week project. Ultimately, this data formed a vital part of my thesis and gave me important leadership experience.

"I am now a graduate on the 'Future Leadership Scheme' at Reckitt, an FMCG company responsible for well known 'over the counter' pharmaceutical brands. As part of this, I complete 3 annual rotations in different parts of the business. My first rotation was in the Smart Release team and I have now started my second rotation in R&D operations for cough, cold and flu. My doctoral research gave me many skills vital for success in industry, including resilience, critical thinking, problem solving and project management."