Introduction
Hey, my name is Farah Farzana and I am a
medical student at the University of Manchester. Last year after I completed my
third year, I decided to take a year out of medicine to do a Masters in
Research degree in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine. This is known as an intercalated degree, that
many medics opt to do if they have further interests in research or any subject
in general. After completing this
Masters, I will go back to medical school to complete my final remaining two
years and hopefully graduate and become a doctor.
I never imagined or really anticipated
during the first few years of Medicine, that I have any interest in research.
To be honest, I was always scared by the prospect of going into research and
imagined it to be pretty intense and hard. However during my third year I
started becoming more interested in regenerative medicine, especially cell
based therapies and the potential of regenerating tissues. The growing area of
research that focuses of regenerating damaged organs or tissues, so in effect
you are giving them a new life every time they are damaged intrigued me. So I
decided to look into regenerating the structures within our spines known as the
intervertebral discs.
In Depth
What is the intervertebral disc and how does it cause back pain?
The intervertebral discs are structures that make up our spine,
and helps in overall mobility. With progressive age the spine goes through
trauma and increase pressure due to many factors such as obesity, because of
which these discs slowly starts to breakdown gradually. This causes severe pain
and discomfort for suffers and is known to be one of the major causes of back
pain. The pain occurs mainly because the discs are no longer mobile enough to
support our range of movements, such as twisting and turning or even sitting
which puts pressure on our spine. It is estimated
that approximately 60-80% of people will at some point in their lifetime
experience back pain. Despite the condition not being life threatening, it
imposes a huge economic burden on our health care system, as well as being one
of the foremost causes of disability due to chronic pain between the ages of 45
and 65 worldwide. Current treatments are costly and only offers
symptomatic relief for the patients and most treatment available are a
temporary fix to the underlying problem. Therefore research is now focussing on
understanding the disease process itself of why the breakdown of the discs
occurs and what cells are involved in such disease. Identifying the exact cells
involved in the process that leads to breakdown of the discs will allow
researchers to target such cells and stop them from causing the breakdown.
What does my research focus on?
Researchers have discovered that some cells act to maintain the
discs health, which can be also targeted to restore the damaged disc. My research
is looking to find out more about the types of cells present within the
innermost layer of the disc. Some cells within this layer of the disc have the
ability to stimulate rejuvenation of the damaged disc, when given signals.
These findings of how these cells function and what signals they need to
remodel the damaged disc will further guide upcoming research that will look at
developing treatments by manipulating such cells to regenerate the discs. Such
treatments will target the underlying disease itself in order to give patients suffering
from back pain a permanent cure to back pain caused with progressive age. Such
discovery in the future can even lead to developing treatments that can
potentially cure back pain forever and change millions of lives.
Going Further
I made a video on studying medicine and how it is like to be a
medical student, if you would like to have a look:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LgGrc6182g
This research is a hot topic now and we even managed to somehow
feature on the daily mail a few years back!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1267326/Growing-new-disc-help-relieve-pain.html
Feature on medical news today about future and techniques of
regenerating the spine:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263496.php
Interested in studying medicine here is a good website to look at:
https://www.bma.org.uk/advice/career/studying-medicine/becoming-a-doctor/introduction
Interested in becoming a scientist? Look
at this website for a step by step explanation:
http://study.com/articles/How_to_Become_a_Biological_Scientist_Education_and_Career_Roadmap.html
A detailed scientific paper explaining disc
degeneration and processes of regeneration:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3008962/
Introduction
Hi! My name is Junaid and I am a medical student
at the University of Manchester. I have taken a year out of my medical studies
to spend some time doing a research masters in Medical Sciences. This means
that I will be spending six years at university instead of the five normally
required for medical school. I am currently conducting research into the
treatment of asthma and rhinitis. I am hoping that this research will lead to
permanent improvements in how we treat people with asthma. The reason I wanted
to conduct research in this area is that I would like to become an Ear, Nose
and Throat (ENT) surgeon in the future. One of the challenges of an ENT surgeon
is managing patients who suffer from rhinitis and the effects it has on their
asthma. Alongside this, I wanted gain an understanding about how research is
conducted in hospitals. Since the way which doctors care for patients is
evolving so quickly, research is an enormous aspect of our careers.
In Depth
Rhinitis is a very common problem that
affects a large number of people who suffer from asthma. It is described as the
inflammation of the nose and can lead to symptoms such as a runny nose,
sneezing and irritated eyes. These problems can affect people all year round
and if you suffer from asthma you are more at risk of suffering from allergic
rhinitis. This is a type of rhinitis that can be caused by allergies. From
research in the past, it has been found that people who suffer from both
allergic rhinitis and asthma at the same time experience a very poor quality of
life. For this reason, I am investigating patients who attend asthma clinic for
allergic rhinitis symptoms. This will help us understand the link between
asthma and allergic rhinitis and how much of an impact both diseases make on
people. Omalizumab is a medication that improves asthma symptoms which leads to
people have a better quality of life. We do not know how this treatment affects
people who suffer from both allergic rhinitis and asthma. By using
questionnaires to find out how many people suffer from asthma and rhinitis and
how well Omalizumab treats patients, we will be able to fine tune the
treatments we give to people to make sure we are giving the right drugs to help
them improve their asthma and allergic rhinitis symptoms.
Going Further
To provide some further background on the conditions that I
am studying you can visit the NHS choices websites for asthma and rhinitis.
Allergic Rhinits : http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/rhinitis---allergic/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Asthma: http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/asthma/Pages/Introduction.aspx
World Allergy has provided a good overview about why asthma
and rhinitis are linked and how they can affect people: http://www.worldallergy.org/public/allergic_diseases_center/caras/
Inflammation (swelling and redness) of the airways which
connect the nasal passage and the mouth to the lungs is an important mechanism
which causes people to suffer from asthma and rhinitis. The asthma centre
provides a good overview on “What is Inflammation?” http://www.asthma.partners.org/NewFiles/Inflammation.html
The American Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has provided
an information leaflet on Omalizumab and the main facts about how it works and
the evidence behind its use: http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2003/omalgen062003LB.pdf
Introduction
Hello! I'm Geraldine
(Gerry) Scullin and I'm a medical student currently taking a year out to study
a Masters in Medical Virology, the study of viruses. These are the germs
responsible for giving you everything from the common cold to other
embarrassing illnesses that we don’t like to talk about. The treatment of
viruses is actually really difficult, so as a medic I'm interested in what is
being done to find out new ways to treat and diagnose them and how I can help.
On a typical day in my Masters I have lectures for a few hours each day and then
labs in the afternoon. In labs we get to diagnose infections by growing viruses
in cells and using molecular techniques. It can be quite difficult at times,
because we're dealing with things that are too small for the human eye to see!
How I got here
During high school I actually
wanted to be a lawyer, and then a vet. It was only when I was choosing my A
Levels that I actually changed my mind and applied for medicine. To me it made
sense because I enjoyed science and also had experience of seeing how hospital
staff work together as my dad was in hospital when I was much younger. The two
things clicked together and I haven't looked back since!
In Depth
What I enjoy most
about medicine is the diversity of the degree. There really is something for
everyone. You can go into research, teach, do incredibly intricate surgeries or
try to unravel the complexities of the human mind.
It's also great if you want to
travel. Humans are the same no matter where you go, but their circumstances and
diseases will change. This is the interesting thing about infectious diseases,
and viruses in particular. There are some weird and wonderful infections out
there to study, and there are also lots of ways you can help people in the
developing world. That was the case in the Ebola epidemic (the strange
knotty-looking thing in the picture), where doctors, scientists and other
healthcare professionals worked to dramatically reduce the transmission of this
terrible disease. As both a medic and a scientist, I feel very privileged that
I am able to learn about not only the clinical symptoms
of diseases, but actually how they
cause disease.
Going Further
www.bmh.manchester.ac.uk - this is the website for the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health,
including both Medicine and Medical Virology. You can search for different
degrees that you're interested in and read up on the grades and experience
needed before you apply.
www.youtube.com is a great tool for explaining concepts that are difficult to understand. I'm a
visual learner and so it really helps to actually SEE how things work.
If you want some basic information about
conditions or diseases, www.patient.co.uk
is a great website to start with. However, I'd be wary of googling all your
symptoms as it can cause unnecessary panic (trust me, I know!)
If you're struggling with ideas about what you
want to do later in life, http://joboutlook.gov.au/careerquiz.aspx is one of many websites that may be able to help you choose.
http://www.who.int/en/
is great for looking at how disease outbreaks differ throughout the world and
can keep you up to date with new developments.
Introduction
My
name is Helene Gleitz and I am a 2nd year PhD student in Medicine.
After getting my international baccalaureate in Switzerland, I studied
Biomedical Materials Science in Manchester and graduated in 2013. I then
applied for a research master’s degree (MRes) in Tissue Engineering for Regenerative
Medicine, where I spent 8 months working in a gene therapy lab. In fact, I
enjoyed my master’s project so much that I applied for a PhD in the same lab to
study gene therapy.
My
PhD investigates a rare paediatric genetic disease called mucopolysaccharidosis
type II, or Hunter syndrome, that occurs almost exclusively in males. I am
looking to develop a gene therapy through the use of haematopoietic stem cells,
which are cells involved in the immune and blood systems.
In Depth
Hunter
syndrome is caused by mutations in the IDS gene present on the X-chromosome and
different mutations affect the severity of the disease. Mutations in the IDS
gene affect the IDS enzyme, which is involved in the degradation of complex
sugars called glycosaminoglycans (GAGs). When degradation and recycling of
large molecules are altered, complex sugars accumulate in every organ in the
body and things start to go haywire.
In the most severe form, young children show
signs of neurodegeneration, behavioural problems and cardiorespiratory complications
amongst many other symptoms. Lifespan is also significantly reduced, with most
patients dying in teenage years. Unfortunately, there is currently no cure for
the severe form and replacing the missing enzyme (known as enzyme replacement
therapy) has no impact on the brain.
The
goal of my PhD is to design a therapy that will replace the missing enzyme
through a single procedure and provide a long-term cure for the brain. We
currently do this by modifying the patient’s own haematopoietic stem cells, which
are the cells that differentiate into your blood and immune systems. Haematopoietic
stem cells are extracted from the patient’s bone marrow, modified in the lab
and re-infused into the patients. This process is known as a bone marrow
transplant.
During
the first year of my PhD, I developed a lentiviral vector, which is a therapeutic
virus derived from HIV-1, to carry the correct ‘version’ of the IDS gene. The
lentivirus can be added to the haematopoietic stem cells in the lab, where the
virus integrates into the genome and delivers the correct gene. This method allows
haematopoietic stem cells to produce the right enzyme.
By
correcting the cells and infusing them back into patients, we expect blood
cells to be able to reduce the amount of complex sugar molecules that are
stored throughout the body. Most importantly, we know that certain blood cells
called monocytes can cross into the brain and have an impact there.
The rest of my PhD will
involve evaluating this therapy in the mouse model of severe Hunter, where I
analyse enzyme levels in the brain, sugar accumulation, neurodegeneration and
behaviour 6 months after the transplant. Ultimately, we are hoping to put this
through to clinical trials and get the therapy to Hunter patients as quickly as
possible!
Going Further
If you’d like to know more
about our research lab and the work that we do, visit our page: http://www.manchester.ac.uk/research/brian.bigger/research
If you are keen to know more
about gene therapy in general, visit: http://www.bsgct.org/
or http://www.asgct.org/
For updates on MPS disorders
in the UK, please visit: http://www.mpssociety.org.uk/en/
Introduction
My name is Kirsty
McIntyre and I am a 2nd year PhD student funded by the Medical Research
Council. I am based in St Mary's Hospital where I carry out my research as a
member of the Maternal and Fetal Health Research Group. The work that I do
aims to help us understand more about a condition called Fetal Growth
Restriction, where the baby does not grow to its potential in the womb and can
tragically lead to stillbirth. To learn more about how the nutrient demands of
the baby are met during pregnancy I study the placenta - the organ attached to
the baby's umbilical cord.
This lab work
allows us to compare how appropriate growth is achieved in normal pregnancies,
and compare this to cases of Fetal Growth Restriction. Understanding more
about the placenta will allow us to understand more about the cause of Fetal
Growth Restriction and thus help us to prevent it!
In Depth
I became
interested in the field of pregnancy research and obstetrics from a single
lecture I was given whilst studying for my undergraduate degree at Edinburgh
Napier University. In the lecture we were taught about the 'Barker Hypothesis'
which is the theory that chronic disease in adult life is associated with
conditions in the womb. I was enthralled by this, it amazed me that our
relatively short period in utero
could have an influence on our long term health. I went on to investigate fetal
development for my undergraduate honours project and that was me hooked!
In 2012 I
graduated with a 1st class honours in Biomedical science and went on to spend a
brief period in industry working for LifeScan Scotland (a Johnson & Johnson
company) developing diabetic test strips. Whilst still keen on pursuing
pregnancy research and to achieve a PhD, I spent the 2 years that followed
traveling Asia and Australasia including a period teaching at Murdoch
University in Perth, Australia. I subsequently applied for my PhD here in
Manchester via Skype having never visited the city!
Now in the 2nd
year of my PhD, my days are varied but usually included some combination of lab
work, data analysis, written work or planning future studies.
Our
team is multi-disciplinary and consists of not only other lab scientists but
also research midwives and clinical fellows who lead clinical trials and
specialised clinics for high risk groups of women. I enjoy this work
environment immensely as it is a constant reminder of the need for, and direct impact
of, our research. Additionally, the collaboration between clinical and lab
scientists creates an unique opportunity for researchers to carry out studies
on human tissue. Our lab space is in the hospital building which allows me to
collect placentas from consenting women who have given birth to babies with or
without Fetal Growth Restriction for my experiments. These samples enable me to
determine whether there are any differences between the 2 groups. It is this
important research that I hope will ultimately lead to the development of
therapeutic options for these women and their children.
I am very grateful to those women who donate
their placentas to research, they are invaluable to my work!
Going Further
To read about what
a day in the life of a research scientist is like, this
blog was written by a student who shadowed me in the lab last year.
You can read about
my research group here
and here
Our research
centre is one 3 UK centres funded by the charity Tommy's
I also collaborate
with CADET
Manchester.
Twitter @_kirstymcintyre