Print This PostYou might have done a double take after skimming through my title but that’s right. For the first time, an undergraduate is going to share with you their experience conducting research amongst highly gifted academics. My purpose in sharing my experience in research is to, hopefully, inspire other undergraduates to try and put themselves out there and find experience in academic research. My name is Yasmin and prepare to get to know more about me and my story.
I am a third-year student from the University of Manchester studying Neuroscience and I am currently undertaking a placement year at the University of Oxford. With the guidance and positive support from my supervisors/mentors, Dr. Becky Carlyle, and Amelia (Millie, although I love to nickname her Mills and she nicknames me Min – it’s our thing don’t judge!), I have been getting the unique chance to learn and try new skills. From doing countless western blots, to differentiating neurons from stem cells to handling frozen brain tissue, I’ve had the opportunity to experiment with new biological procedures and grow not only as a student, but as a person. I have always struggled with confidence in the past (thanks to my social anxiety) but through presenting academic posters at conferences and showing my data in regularly scheduled lab meetings, I have realised that as long as you have an encouraging group of peers and family around you, it can help immensely in making you self-assured in your capabilities.
For my placement year I have been commuting from Milton Keynes all the way to Oxford by bus. And let me tell you something: this is not for the faint of heart! My self-discipline has definitely been put to the test when it comes to waking up in the early hours of the morning to attend lab meetings or arriving home at 10 or 11pm on account of how long it takes me to finish an experiment. But as I previously stated, having supportive family and friends makes the whole experience a lot less stressful. For example, because I live with my parents in Milton Keynes I get to come home to beautiful home-cooked meals (shoutout to my parents for their amazing cooking) after late shifts. Additionally, both Millie and Becky are always there to offer me emotional and/or academic support if things get too much for me. So, if you are about to embark on work experience/placement year soon, I strongly advise asking for help and support when needed.
Now I’m sure some of you are curious on the research I do, so here it is. My research involves investigating the potential protective effects of neuropeptides from the granin family on iPSC-derived cortical neurons insulted with oligomerised amyloid beta. The primary focus of our work is on the granin family neuropeptides, which have been shown in a recent proteomic study conducted by my supervisor, Dr Carlyle, to be more upregulated in
the CSF and brain tissue of patients who are termed “resilient”. And by “resilient” we mean those individuals who have the pathological features of Alzheimer’s yet retain their cognitive ability, as measured by the Braak stage – a measure of neuropathology (Quinn et al., 2023). The objective is to see whether treating the neurons with different dosages of these peptides will increase neurite length – which we use as an indicator of resilience.
Before starting my placement, admittedly I was very nervous and for various reasons. The main reason was that as an undergraduate I didn’t want to make any huge mistakes and be deemed as less intelligent compared to everyone else in the lab. Essentially, I wanted to be the perfect student. But how can I be when I have limited experience and have so much more to learn?
I soon came to the realisation that there’s no such thing as being a perfect student; if you are about to start any form of work experience or about to start a new chapter in your academic journey, do not be afraid to make mistakes and don’t put an overwhelming amount of pressure on yourself to be better than everyone else.
Without giving too many teasers of what’s to come, I’ll end it with this: stay tuned for more to find out about the benefits of doing placements/any type of work experience and navigating your next steps after graduating and more.
Yasmin Bonsu
Author
Yasmin Bonsu is an an undergraduate student from the University of Manchester currently undertaking a placement year at Wade-Martins Lab at Oxford University. Yasmin is investigating the activity of proteoforms of the granin family in cortical neurons insulted with oligomerised amyloid beta. Her goal is to finish her placement year, earn her bachelor’s degree in neuroscience, and then pursue a PhD in clinical neuroscience. Through Yasmin’s blogs we’ll gain insights on life as an undergraduate, and hopefully inspire others to pursue a career in dementia research.
