As summer draws to a close, results come in and we all think about what our next steps might look like it felt like now would be a good time to share a guest blog that has been written to help inspire what some of those options might look like.

Joanna Ward is a prize winning MBio student based at the University of Lincoln. She has recently completed her MBio and been accepted into a prestigious PhD programme, continuing under her MBio supervisors Professor Claire Hills and Professor Paul Squires.

A year in the life of an MBio student

As I come to the end of my degree, I have been reflecting upon my experience at the University of Lincoln, but in particular, my master’s year which I have just completed. As an MBio student, my degree consisted of a three-year BSc Biomedical Science course, before an additional ‘masters’ year in which I was fortunate enough to join the University of Lincoln Renal Group. Supervised by Prof Claire Hills and Prof Paul Squires, the group has research interests in diabetes, chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. Specifically, they study the underlying mechanisms which drive disease progression, to better understand how we can intervene clinically and improve patient outcomes.  I love these areas of research which aim to bridge bench to bedside– it epitomises everything I have ever wanted to do and I am driven everyday by the possibility of our research being beneficial to so many people.

After a disrupted undergraduate degree as a result of COVID, going into my master’s year I had very little lab experience and the thought of completing a lab-based project was quite a daunting prospect, but I was incredibly fortunate to be part of a team where there’s no such thing as a silly question and support is always at hand. I soon realised that I loved being in the lab and the research absolutely fascinated me.

Being part of a very active research group meant I spent a lot of time at the bench, conducting experiments and analysing data. My typical day in the lab would involve firstly checking on my cells; tissue culture forms a huge part of our research so getting to grips with the techniques behind it was a key part of being able to run the experiments. I used human kidney cells to create an in vitro model of chronic kidney disease which then allowed us to determine whether the drugs we were treating our cells with were having a protective effect. After this, I would run multiple different experiments throughout the day, these could involve techniques that include Western blotting, PCR and several different laboratory assays. Having a lab-based year through completing the MBio gave me the opportunity to develop so many different lab skills, something which I am hugely grateful for.

Aside from lab work, this year I have also developed multiple skills important to a career in science. One of these is keeping up with the literature surrounding our research topics, this is both essential but also difficult since papers are published so frequently and knowledge around specific subject areas can develop quickly. Creating a system which enabled me to keep up with this early on was something which made my life a lot easier as the year progressed so I absolutely cannot recommend this enough! Science communication forms a huge part of research, and through being lucky enough to attend the Diabetes UK professional conference, regularly presenting at lab meetings, research showcases and poster presentations, I have developed more confidence in public speaking. Importantly I have developed a greater appreciation for the ability to communicate our research to people in other disciplines.

I have had the most incredible year and have grown on both a personal and professional level, but this absolutely hasn’t happened by chance. I have been incredibly fortunate to be guided into the world of science by the most wonderful supervisors who have not only given me so many incredible opportunities but have also encouraged and supported me every step of the way. They have believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself and have made me realise a career in research is exactly what I want to do with my life. They are also incredible scientists who I look up to enormously- as an early career researcher you absolutely need mentors who are supportive and whom you trust, so having supervisors like this has been an absolute privilege.  I have also been blessed with the most wonderful lab mates who have become some of my best friends and make every day full of laughter and fun. They have taught me more than they will ever know and couldn’t have been more supportive, reassuring, and hilarious. I look forward to every single day I spend with them!

My master’s has been an absolute joy, I would tell anyone considering doing an MBio to give it everything that you have, go above and beyond, be a team player and make the most out of every opportunity you are given.  I am incredibly excited to see where my path in science and research takes me next and will forever be thankful to team Renal for providing the very best start in this.

All opinions in this blog are my own