My name is Jason Chu, and I’m a
second year PhD student in Biomedical Imaging. For years, I debated what kind
of career I wanted to follow - police, architect, restauranteur. In the end, I
finished my Advanced Highers (the Scottish equivalent of A Levels) in 2012,
with a curiosity for science. I went on to study Immunology at the University
of Glasgow. This decision was heavily influenced by my fascination of TV and
film adaptations of zombie outbreaks, and how our body’s defence system would
fight against pathogens. As part of my Immunology degree, I did a placement
year in 2015 at GlaxoSmithKline where I took part in research to develop novel
antibody technology.
In 2017, I started my PhD in
Biomedical Imaging at the University of Manchester. Here, I use 3D PET imaging
technology to understand how an immune cell called macrophages is involved
healthy and diabetic wound healing.
In Depth
Diabetes is a growing problem
across the world. With massive modern lifestyle changes in recent decades (diet,
technology, work, and healthcare) it is expected to quadruple and affect over
340 million people by 2030. One of the associated complications is an impaired
ability to heal wounds. This can lead to chronic wounds, unresolved infections
and in worst case scenarios – lower limb amputations.
Poor treatment to this affliction
is partly due to a lack of mechanistic understanding. This is where the
scientists come in. It is believed that immune cells such as macrophages may
not be working normally in those that have diabetes and so prevent wounds from
healing as they should.
What do I investigate?
I want to understand how these
macrophages behave in healthy wound healing, and compare it with diabetic wound
healing. To do so, I am using established techniques and developing novel ways
to image these cells. The old-fashioned way is to take small tissue samples of
the wound, process it into wax, cut them into extremely thin slices and stain
it for macrophages – to see how many there are and where they are.
The novel technique I am
developing is to use PET imaging to visualise the macrophages in 3D and in
real-time. Positron Emission Tomography (PET) is an imaging technique used to
observe biochemical processes inside the body. This requires a radioactive
tracer: an organic compound labelled with a radioactive element. The organic
compound is a jigsaw piece that fits nicely with your biological target (e.g.
macrophages), and the radioactive element is a beacon to make it easier to see.
A small and safe amount of this radioactive tracer is injected into the subject
and accumulates at biologically relevant sites of the body (e.g. macrophages).
When they do so, they release a pair of gamma rays. The PET scanner detects
these and reconstructs them into 3D images of where the radioactive tracer is
in the body.
This allows us as scientists to
gain a better understanding of where and how macrophages behave in the context
of wound healing. This new information and the imaging technology we develop is
a small and exciting puzzle piece in a bigger picture to help improve people’s
lives.
Going Further
Find out more about diabetes and wound healing from these
websites -
https://www.woundsource.com/blog/four-stages-wound-healing
Part of the reason I got involved in this project is because
of my interest in imaging and photography, and here are some examples of this
in the biological world - https://bscb.org/competitions-awardsgrants/image-competition/
https://www.rsb.org.uk/get-involved/rsb-competitions/photography-competition-2018
https://www.rms.org.uk/discover-engage/competitions-awards/rms-scientific-imaging-competition.html
To find out more about studying immunology in
Manchester -
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/2019/10284/bsc-immunology/course-details/#course-profile
Introduction
Hi, my name is Abbie, and I am from Macclesfield
in Cheshire, which is approximately 25 minutes away on the train. On the
outskirts of the Peak District, I am comfortably surrounded by lots of hills,
forests and greenery, with the wonderful, vibrant city of Manchester just a
train ride away! I'm working now as a Graduate Intern in Student Recruitment and Widening Participation at the University of Manchester, this blog is the steps I took to get where I am!
How I got here?
I followed a very traditional route of education. I
completed my GCSE’s and then continued onto Sixth Form to complete A-Levels in
Biology, Chemistry, Geography and Psychology. During my years at secondary
school, I was sure that I wanted to pursue a career in science; I was good at
it and did really well in my exams, and I also knew it was a very prestigious
career to be in, with the potential to earn a lot of money.
To improve my chances of getting onto a science degree, I
completed an internship at the pharmaceutical company called AstraZeneca, where
I worked alongside experts in a variety of different fields. Nevertheless, as I
started my A-Levels, I soon realised that my love of science had diminished,
and I found the subject a lot harder than many of my peers. I therefore could
not imagine studying a subject for three years that I wasn’t passionate about.
Psychology was a new subject that I had never studied before
and it soon became the most interesting and exciting subject I had ever
studied. I enjoyed discovering new theories about human behaviour and
understanding the depths of the human mind; something I had never really
thought about before. My passion for Psychology grew constantly throughout my
two years at sixth form, and it became very clear that I wanted to pursue this
subject at university.
And now here I am a graduate from The University of
Manchester with a BSc (Hons) Psychology degree, and my love for this subject
continues to grow each day. I currently working as a Student Recruitment and
Widening Participation Intern at the University of Manchester and my degree has
been invaluable in the work I now do. It taught me so much, and I have been
able to apply so much of the knowledge and the skills that I learnt to my current
role.
In depth
My role is extremely varied and involves working with
students in Year 7 to 11, to try and encourage them to consider higher
education in their future journeys. I am involved in the planning and
organisation of many large scale events that bring young people onto our
campus. I also deliver many in-school presentations and workshops to select
groups of students. I also work with young people who are in care, and are currently
living with foster families or in residential homes – it is extremely rewarding
to see this cohort’s confidence grow when they take part in our activities!
The key aim of our work is to raise aspirations and show
young people that higher education is accessible to anyone, no matter what your
background; and this makes my job extremely rewarding – for me, and the young
people I work with! I absolutely LOVE my job!
Introduction
My name’s Anthea and I’m a
currently a graduate intern with the Student Recruitment and Widening
Participation (SRWP) team. After studying A Levels in Sociology, English
Language, French and completing an extended project I went onto study Sociology
at the University. I’m from a town local to Manchester and have grown up loving
its rich diversity and things to do! Manchester was the obvious choice for me
and I absolutely loved my degree and the opportunities it’s provided!
In Depth
When I started my first year I
knew I wanted to work with young people but I was unsure about how I could go
about this. I had volunteered with various projects whilst at college and
wanted to expand my knowledge further. During my second year of University I
applied for an 8 week summer internship through the careers service with a
local mentoring charity called ReachOut. Throughout my internship I was able to
work with new people and create workshops for Year 6 pupils transitioning into
secondary school. After an amazing 8 weeks I was offered the opportunity to be
a Project Leader working with a group of university mentors and primary school
pupils once a week for a two hour workshop that I designed. The aims were to
boost literacy and numeracy skills as well as character strengths such as
fairness, self-control, good judgement and staying power. This was done through
various fun activities such as drama, art and team building exercises. I ran
the project whilst balancing the high pressured demands of my final year.
Despite its challenges and learning to juggle my studies with my workshops, it
was definitely a great learning curve! Although the purpose of the role was to
improve the self-esteem of the mentees, I found that being pushed out of my
comfort zone to encourage and motivate others had a profound effect on me!
Being a Project Leader drove my
interest in the Youth Work sector and gave me more confidence in my abilities
to work with young people. I went onto complete a graduate internship with
ReachOut and gain a deep insight into how charities operate. I was able to assist
the production and delivery of ReachOut Graduation Ceremony and despite its
challenges the day was extremely successful! I liaised with corporate sponsors,
helped recruit new mentors and assisting the training of new Project Leaders.
My time at ReachOut led me onto a
graduate internship with the Student Recruitment and Widening Participation at
The University of Manchester. When I applied for the job I definitely did not
think I would get to do all of the different and varied jobs that I get to do!
My main role is working with the Post 16 team on events which take place on
campus. This includes the weekly accommodation tours in Fallowfield, Guided
visits and campus tours and the massive open days which take place in June.
These events allow me to work with student ambassadors across the University
and meet people from around the world. I have been very fortunate that I have
got to work with people from various faculties as well as prospective students.
University was one of the most important experiences of my life and meeting
people who are about to embark on that journey is so exciting. The role within
the SRWP team means I have also been able to get involved with other activities
happening around the team such as events with the Brilliant Club and Greater
Manchester Higher. I’ve also been able to visit different colleges and deliver
presentations as well as Higher Education Conventions around the UK to meet
people who are interested in studying at Manchester. In the short time I have
been here I have become adaptable and more confident in public speaking, having
the support of the team has encouraged my own personal development and it has
been an opportunity I am very grateful for!
Once my internship has ended I am
hoping to gain my Youth Work qualification and work with many more different
types of young people. I never thought when I first started studying at the
university that I would be so fortunate to gain the experiences I have.
Studying a broad subject which I was passionate about and making use of the
opportunities offered by the university has increased my desire to continue to
work with young people and to challenge myself whenever I can!
Going Further
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/connect/teachers/students/secondary/widening-participation/
The Widening
Participation programmes at Manchester, which encourage students of all
educational backgrounds to apply to Manchester.
http://www.manchester.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/open-days-visits/meet-us/
Open days and Campus visits are the best way to see what it
really feels like to be at University!
https://www.reachoutuk.org/
ReachOut works with young people across Manchester, Oldham
and London and is currently looking for Mentors and Project Leaders!
Introduction
My name is
Asif Majid, and I’m a second-year PhD student in Anthropology, Media, and
Performance. Broadly speaking, my work sits at the intersection of theatre and
the lived experiences of marginalized communities. I research, teach, perform, and
make work at this intersection in a variety of contexts and capacities.
(Storytelling | photo: the stoop)
My PhD research focuses on the ways
in which applied theatre offers insights into the lives of British Muslim youth
in Manchester. Through a series of workshops, performances, and interviews, I
am facilitating a theatre-making process that addresses the sociopolitical
narratives that British Muslim youth face. The process spans the current
academic year (2017/18), after which point I will draw out common themes from
the workshops, performances, and interviews in the writing of my thesis.
In Depth
Both my
academic trajectory and my current research straddle the worlds of performance
and politics, bridging theory/practice and a wide variety of disciplines.
Originally from the US, I earned my BA in Interdisciplinary Studies (Global
Peace Building and Conflict Management) at UMBC in 2013. In 2015, I completed a
MA in Conflict Resolution from Georgetown University. During both degrees, I
focused on the ways in which the performing arts are used in conflict situations
and social justice endeavors. Over time, my focus shifted from the broader arts
to theatre in particular. This led me to pursue a PhD under the supervision of
Prof. James Thompson at Manchester, who is one of the world’s leading experts on
applied theatre. My program combines his expertise in Drama with the resources
of the Social Anthropology department, such that I have a supervisor from each.
At the same time, I have been an
active performer across a number of arts (music, theatre, etc.). This
dovetailed with my research inquiries and has allowed me to use my knowledge of
theatre and the wider arts to engage with British Muslim youth who are
participating in my PhD project. I borrow heavily from a particular type of
theatre known as “theatre of the oppressed,” which was developed by Brazilian
theatre practitioner Augusto Boal. I also leverage a process known as
“devising,” which involves making theatre by starting with an idea rather than
a fixed script or text. In my case, the idea is the lived experiences of the project’s
participants and how they want to represent those to a wider public. My task,
essentially, is to facilitate a translation of their lived experiences into
art.
My work is part of a broader
conversation in the UK’s (and the West’s) cultural sector, which is
increasingly thinking about how minority groups are represented in theatre,
music, and dance. In the UK, discourses tend to represent British Muslims in
largely negative ways: as foreigners, terrorists, or zealots. This project (and
my wider work) seeks to push back against these characterizations by putting
British Muslim youth at the center of the conversation about them, rather than
on its fringes. At the same time, it challenges the public conversation about
Britishness, which is continually looking for scapegoats and ways to equate
Britishness with Englishness and whiteness, despite the country’s beautiful
multiculturalism.
(as mowgli in The Jungle Book | photo: Brian Roberts)
Going Further
Playwright
Omar el-Khairy and director Nadia Latif on British Muslims and theatre (https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/apr/13/drama-in-the-age-of-prevent-why-cant-we-move-beyond-good-muslim-v-bad-muslim)
An important
book about Britain’s current struggles with race and multiculturalism (https://unbound.com/books/the-good-immigrant/)
On changing
the narrative around British Muslims (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/05/we-will-not-tackle-extremism-by-stigmatising-muslims)
A valuable book
that critiques the ways that Muslimness is policed and securitized in the UK
& US (https://www.versobooks.com/books/1765-the-muslims-are-coming)
About
theatre of the oppressed (https://cardboardcitizens.org.uk/theatre-oppressed)
On devising
theatre (https://www.theguardian.com/culture-professionals-network/2014/dec/16/devised-theatre-ten-tips-collaboration)
Drama at the
University of Manchester (https://www.alc.manchester.ac.uk/drama/)
Anthropology
at the University of Manchester (http://www.socialsciences.manchester.ac.uk/social-anthropology/)
Introduction
Hi, my name is Hamza and I am currently a graduate intern
within the widening participation team at the University of Manchester. As an undergraduate, I studied Law with
Criminology. Over the course of my degree, I developed a strong interest in
helping the wider community through volunteering as a student advisor in the
University’s legal advice centre and as a student ambassador. As a student
advisor, my role was to prepare case files, speak to clients from the local
area over the phone, interview these clients and draft letters of advice for
them.
As an ambassador, I
was able to work on the University’s widening participation initiatives, the
Gateways Programme, Greater Manchester Higher and the Manchester Access
Programme (MAP). These schemes were aimed at increasing progression to
university from particular underrepresented demographics (e.g. Young people
from low income households). My role as
an ambassador was to facilitate activities for these students on campus and
really engage with them, in order to raise their aspirations.
Alongside being a student ambassador, I also used to work
with the Donor Relations team at the University. I would meet regularly with
donors and prospective donors- to talk about my experiences at the University
of Manchester and how the MAP scholarship I was receiving helped me during my
undergraduate studies. I was more than happy to express my gratitude for the
scholarship and meet with donors, especially if there was even a slight chance
that a prospective donor would consider donating a gift which would benefit the
future generation of MAP students.
A combination of both these experiences have led to me to my
current role as an intern in one of the widening participation programmes that
I worked on as an ambassador, the Manchester Access Programme (MAP). My role
involves monitoring and communicating with students who are on the programme
but also to plan and run large scale events for students to attend on campus. I
also deliver presentations
regularly, write pieces for the University website and manage teams of student
ambassadors on these event days.
In Depth
So why is Widening Participation something that I am really
passionate about? Well, it’s because I came through the same programme that I
now work on, MAP, as a student. I was
given a chance to come on to the University of Manchester campus and take part
in various activities- from Academic writing workshops, Research, Revision and
Referencing workshops, Personal Statement support and the opportunity to attend
a University Life Conference (which involved delivering a group Enquiry Based Learning
presentation during the day and an option to spend the evening in the
University’s Halls of Residences).
MAP made me realise that progressing on to higher education
was not a distant dream. It gave me the
confidence to actually believe that I was capable and deserving of a place at
university. It is no surprise to see that I now currently hold a role where I
get the opportunity to help other students who were like me. I understand the barriers that students face
as I have faced them myself. Having the chance to be involved in a programme
which is attempting to level the playing fields and give students, who have the
ability to succeed at university, that extra support that they need is something
that I am extremely passionate about.
In terms of the future, I am still unsure as to where it is
I will end up. The option to pursue Law is still there at the forefront of my
mind but with my current role, the idea of engaging with young people and raising
aspirations is something which has become increasingly attractive as a
potential alternative route. What is for certain however is that I want to
continue to help those who may be less fortunate and come from similar
backgrounds to myself, as I wholeheartedly believe that everyone deserves an
opportunity- once you have been given an opportunity, it is up to you to pass
it forward to someone else.
Going Further...
http://www.access.manchester.ac.uk/ useful link to the widening participation
schemes the university of Manchester run- Can check eligibility for each
programme on the webpage!
http://documents.manchester.ac.uk/display.aspx?DocID=4294 Might be slightly text heavy and aimed at
an older audience but really useful to see all the work and statistics behind
WP!