“I am incredibly grateful for the time I was able to spend at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Centre this summer. Under the amazing supervision of Dr. Ruxandra Sîrbulescu, I worked on several research projects that spanned the fields of neuroscience and immunology. My main project involved characterising the immune populations in the brains of patients with a rare neurodegenerative disease. From the beginning, I was given responsibility for the project and its outcomes, presenting results to peers and collaborators throughout. I had not expected such responsibility during my internship, but I stepped well outside my comfort zone and took the most of the opportunities presented to me. This experience would not have been the same without the team of senior and junior scientists that supported me from the start of my projects. By the end of my time at the VIC, I was incredibly sad to leave the research and my team behind, but I was so proud of the quantity and quality of work I had produced. The personal and professional growth cannot be described in words alone – it must be experienced unfiltered and in-person to fully comprehend. Without a shadow of a doubt, I encourage anyone who really loves biomedical research, and has the willingness to dedicate themselves to a fantastic research project, to apply for the Professor Dulcie Coleman Studentship. There is no better way to explore your research interests and gain an incomparable research experience than at the Vaccine and Immunotherapy Centre.” – Matthew Murphy
