Alyssa Laffey talks about being a Studentship Awardee 2023 – All Ireland MS Research Network.
Alyssa Laffey – Studentship Awardee 2023
Studentship
AIMS-RN Summer Studentship Awardees
PEARSE HILLIS
I’m Pearse, a 2nd year science student from Belfast currently studying for a BSc in Human Biology at Queen’s University Belfast. I am eager to learn about and engage with challenging, novel research and to work as part of a dedicated team of scientists.
I am delighted to have been successful in my application for this studentship, MS is a devastating disease that affects many people in Ireland and across the globe, including members of my own family. The AIMS-RN summer studentship is an amazing opportunity to be able to work collaboratively with a team of talented researchers who are focused on limiting MS progression through the use of innovative scientific methods.
NIAMH WALSH
My name is Niamh Walsh and I am currently in the third year of my undergraduate course studying Human Health and Disease in Trinity College, Dublin. So far, my studies have given me the opportunity to engage in a wide range of biomedical sciences and this has led me to acquire a specific interest in Neurology and Immunology.
I am delighted to have been awarded a summer studentship by the incredible team behind the AIMS research network. The mission of unifying and supporting MS researchers across the island of Ireland is inspirational and I am grateful to have been accepted to be a part of it. I aspire to become involved in the advances that have taken place in MS research within the last few years and I am hopeful that I will pursue a career in this area in the future.
CLAIRE DOURIEU
I have just completed my final year of studies in Biomedical Science, specialising in Anatomy in NUI Galway.
My motivation to apply for this studentship stems from my long-established interest in neurodegenerative and inflammatory conditions, as such making Multiple Sclerosis research the ideal intersection between the two disciplines. My dedicated interest in MS specifically, stems from my previous studies of demyelinating disorders which have enhanced my understanding and intrigue, as well as my personal relations to sufferers of this disorder which have played a pivotal role in my reason for application to the AIMS-RN studentship.
I look forward to working with like-minded individuals this summer and am excited to have the opportunity to work with experts in this area of research.
MELODY CUI SUN
Hello, my name is Melody and I’m an aspiring MS research scientist! I recently graduated from an undergraduate degree in Human Health & Disease and soon I will be commencing a PhD in MS this September.
I applied for this studentship because I wanted to gain as much experience as possible before commencing my PhD. I am very excited to tackle the challenges of my project to gain much valuable insight! I find MS research to be very intriguing, and I am looking forward to delving into this field.
AIMS-RN Summer Studentship programme 2022
AIMS-RN Summer Studentship programme 2022 is now open for applications.
Deadline: 28th Feb.
Apply here: https://aims-rn.org/vacancies/.
Studentship Awardee 2022: Mohammad Mofatteh
I am Mohammad Mofatteh, a second-year medical student at Queen’s University Belfast. Having completed my PhD at the University of Cambridge and a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Oxford, I had established a strong research career before starting my medical training at Queen’s. At Queen’s, I am planning to continue my academic activities while studying for my medical degree. Being awarded an AIMS-RN scholarship enabled me to spend my summer at Welcome Wolfson Institute of Experimental Medicine, working with Prof Denise Fitzgerald and Dr Racheal Kee on multiple sclerosis to expand my horizon and learn new skills.
Briefly, MS is a neurodegenerative disease where immune cells attack the myelin sheath of neurons. One of the important protective cells in the immune system is regulatory T cells (Treg) that can drive the maturation of cells responsible for producing that myelin sheath (oligodendrocytes). However, the mechanism by which this has been done remains elusive. In my project, I used animal models which had injuries to their myelin sheath to investigate the expression of a molecule, namely MHC-II, at different time points after the injury. Understanding the pattern by which these molecules are made in cells can help us to realise their roles in the maturation of oligodendrocyte precursor cells and, overall, the remyelination process.
I would like to devote the rest of my life to research and training until I can become a successful academic neurosurgeon at a world-class institute to continue helping my patients and pushing the boundaries of science.
Studentship Awardee 2022: Kais Al-Khaldi
Kais Al-Khaldi incoming 3rd year medical student, and here are some questions I answered about AIMS-RN and my experience so far.
One thing I learned:
The intricacies behind dissection and cell line harvest from animal models, in addition to the organization required to facilitate multiple labs working together in the same space
Best Experience:
Being allowed to show my competencies and giving me the autonomy to run my own project and experiments
Something I want others to know:
This internship is what you make it out to be. The potential for networking is so big given the number of PhD students you will be working with every day. People also love talking about their projects so if you are interested in what they are doing ask as many questions as you can. In research you are a lifelong student, you never know if a simple idea for you might be the solution someone has been looking for to solve an issue they encountered.
Something I didn’t expect to have:
Supervisors and PhD students that were so keen and supportive to teach me and allow me to work to my potential and capabilities.
Why MS:
I chose AIMS-RN as a platform for me to get exposed to the realm of neurology as it’s a field of research I haven’t experienced before and is a field of medicine I am interested in pursuing, so joining the network was a huge learning opportunity for me to get up to witness the groundwork of what is going on in the current field of MS research in the hopes of improving the lives of people around the world.
Studentship Awardee 2022: Helene Arnold
Hi, my name is Helene Arnold. I am a 4th year neuroscience undergraduate student at Trinity College. I completed a 6-week AIMS-RN internship in Dr. Claire McCoy’s lab within RCSI’s School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, under the supervision of Conor Duffy.
During this time, my project’s aim was to identify relationships between microRNA and their targets involved in neuroinflammation and MS. Understanding how microRNA and their targets interact is important to construct new therapeutics that reverse or combat the inflammation characteristic of MS.
I looked at how microRNAs can impact microglial pro- or anti-inflammatory states, which contribute to disease progression or recovery, respectively. To achieve this, microglia cells were cultured and treated with pro- and/or anti-inflammatory stimulations, and then ELISA and PCR tests were conducted to view the expression pattern of inflammatory cytokines, specific microRNAs, and their predicted targets. Then, I reviewed the results to identify whether new microRNA target relationships could be suspected in the context of pro- and anti-inflammatory microglia states.
The contribution of this project and future research for identifying microRNA target relationships in differentially activated microglia, is relevant for therapeutic approaches to reduce neuroinflammation and trigger a recovery phenotype in MS.