Respiratory cardiovascular
Respiratory students
As every pathway to a PhD is different, we asked some of our PhD students about their individual journeys - from finding funding to advice they would give to someone thinking about applying for their own PhD.
Kunguan Tian
What is your PhD about?
I’m looking at genetics and environment, recreating the onset of pre-school wheeze and the progression to asthma. The approach of my project is to set up an animal model using a virus to induce a viral response which will make the mice susceptible to asthma.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
My funding is from Asthma UK which I came across on the British Society of Immunology website. I think the scholarship was also advertised on the Imperial website too. I found the application process very straightforward. I didn’t actually apply for this one initially but it was suggested to me that I apply for this PhD instead. I didn’t think I was ready for this but when I had a closer look into it, I thought it sounded really interesting so it all worked out well.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
When I was at high school in Singapore I decided that I wanted to study at a university in London so I applied for an undergraduate degree in Biomedical Sciences at University College London. I then did my MSc in Immunology here at Imperial and was a research assistant over at Imperial College’s Hammersmith campus before starting my PhD.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
Talk to postdocs because they are in a really interesting position – they’ve already done their PhD so can talk about their experience and at the same time they are still working up the ladder, so they are a very good source of advice.
Lauren Headley
What is your PhD about?
The methods of diagnosing and assessing asthma are pretty complicated and can be invasive and aren’t always accurate. So for me, the goal is to make a sampling method where we can just analyse it and tell people you need to be on this medication or this isn’t going to work for you, just to simplify the process, making it much easier for patients and doctors and ultimately not see people suffer.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
I went on the FindaPhD website which found my MRC/Asthma UK joint PhD on it. It was one of the more straightforward applications I’ve done. I had to send over my CV then have a Skype interview. How easy it is all depends on the funding you’re applying for and the research group.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
Before coming here I did my undergraduate degree at King’s College London which I extended into an MSci that was Integrated Physiology and Pharmacology for Research. However in order to do the BSc I had to do an Access course as I didn’t actually have A Levels. I applied to a few universities for two different courses and I got offers from King’s and London Southbank which I thought was miraculous. It always seemed like it was A Levels or nothing, I was offered a place and I really enjoyed it.
Why did you choose Imperial?
After completing my BSc in Pharmacology at King’s College London I actually had a PhD lined up in Australia. It was my dream to go out there but my husband said he didn’t want to go! I told him that I would apply for this PhD at Imperial, thinking I was never going to get it so we could still go to Australia…but then I ended up getting it! It’s been such an amazing opportunity; I never could have dreamed of coming here.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
Go for it! The skills that you learn are so transferable, and if you enjoy learning and education, a PhD is perfect.
Read more from Lauren who visited her old school to inspire the next generation of women in STEM.
Karim Boustani
What is your PhD about?
For my PhD I’m looking at the role the antibody response plays in asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) – a lung disease that scars the lungs - and specifically why some types of antibodies are increased in patients with these diseases. I want to investigate why we find some types of B cells in the airways in the first place. If we can understand how these cells are contributing to inflammation and disease, we can hopefully target them with treatments.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
I am funded by an Asthma UK studentship as part of the Asthma UK Centre in Allergic Mechanisms of Asthma. After completing my MSc in Immunology at Imperial, I knew I wanted to study respiratory immunology at PhD level so I decided to apply.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
I did my undergraduate degree London in Biochemistry at Kings College London and then I moved to Imperial to do an MSc in Immunology.
Why did you choose Imperial?
I was already at Imperial for a year doing my MSc and I really liked it, and I knew I wanted to work within the field of immunology and lung inflammation. I knew Imperial had an excellent department so I thought I’d apply.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
The advice that I would give to anyone thinking about doing a PhD would be to get a feel of the lab and supervisor beforehand if possible. If you can, go and meet with the principal investigator, go for an informal chat, go and see the labs, and see if they have all the equipment and funding you might want or need.
Helen Stölting
What is your PhD about?
My PhD centres around remodelling of the lung during asthma or allergic airway disease during early life, looking at both school-age children with asthma, but also pre-school wheezing in the chest which happens before that. A lot of children who have pre-school wheeze go on to develop asthma later in life, but some of them don’t and at the moment we don’t really know why that is.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
The British Lung Foundation (BLF). My MSc research project supervisor already had funding secured for PhD students through her larger research grant and she helped guide me through the application process which was really helpful.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
I did my undergraduate degree in Molecular Biomedicine at the University of Bonn in Germany and then I took a year out to do some internships at Bayer, a German biomedical company, and also worked in some university labs. This was a really helpful experience as it made me realise that I don’t want to work in industry! I really enjoyed the project I did as part of my MSc in Immunology at Imperial. I had half a year of lectures and then completed my research project with Professor Clare Lloyd, whose group I am working in now.
Why did you choose Imperial?
It was actually more down to chance! I knew I wanted to study Immunology and in Germany there are a couple of universities that are renowned for Immunology, and one of those was where I did my undergraduate degree. I knew I didn’t necessarily want to stay in the same city or at the same university so I started applying to places abroad and Imperial’s MSc just looked really interesting. They had a scholarship which was easy to apply for, and even though I didn’t get it, I still came and I don’t regret it.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
It’s difficult to say now because I’m still quite early in, but I think your heart has to be in it. There will be some difficult times somewhere along the line and if you’re not enjoying research, don’t do it. But I do think anyone can do it if you set your mind to it.
Nicoletta Bruno
What is your PhD about?
I’m looking at steroid resistant asthma in particular, both in animals and humans. I’m looking at the asthma types that are not strictly related to allergy and that are more resistant to the current therapies. It’s more about identifying which mechanisms are going on because there’s not much known about it, and when we learn more it will make a difference.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
I found my MRC-Asthma UK studentship on the FindaPhD website. It was a fairly easy application process – I just had to send a cover letter and my CV, and the interview was quite straightforward compared to other interviews I’ve had.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
I studied my undergraduate degree in Biotechnology in Bologna, Italy, then I completed a MSc in Pharmaceutical Biotechnology in both Bologna and in Munich, Germany. I then worked as a research assistant in Cambridge at the Sanger Institute for two years before deciding that I wanted to do a PhD.
Why did you choose Imperial?
It’s quite funny actually, I applied and didn’t really know that Imperial had such a good reputation for research! It was only once I started that I realised how lucky I was.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
It needs commitment and it can be stressful but it’s worth it. It’s good because you keep challenging yourself all the time and you have to keep up to date on what everyone else is doing. You need to be motivated because you don’t get paid much and you still have to work at weekends. But you get to work with clinicians and that’s quite unique as you don’t get to do that with many other places in Europe. Here you get clinicians working alongside pure scientists and you can learn from each other.
Cardiovascular students
As every pathway to a PhD is different, we asked some of our PhD students about their individual journeys - from finding funding to advice they would give to someone thinking about applying for their own PhD.
Alice Francis
What is your PhD about?
I am investigating the gender differences in heart failure, in particular looking at the role of oestrogen and how it affects calcium ion (Ca2+) signalling in the heart because it is well known that as women go through menopause (and circulating oestrogen levels decline) their risk of developing cardiovascular diseases increases. I was drawn to this research topic because gender differences are often unaccounted for in research studies despite being prevalent and very topical!
Why did you choose Imperial?
Imperial is one of the leaders in the field of research and innovation and I wanted to be a part of that community! It was also important to me to join an institution that has a good reputation and is recognised globally, as I may one day want to work abroad. I was very keen to move to London too! And finally, because I was already working at Imperial, I knew that I really liked my research group and was part of a brilliant department with a good sense of community and ethos that I wanted to maintain for my PhD.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
I am funded by the British Heart Foundation. I secured the funding because I had worked in the same laboratory group as a research technician for a year and a half, gaining relevant laboratory experience and skills that were tailored to the PhD project.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
Before starting the PhD, I spent six months working in a different university as Laboratory Assistant and then started as a Research Technician working within Professor Ken MacLeod’s laboratory in NHLI at Imperial. I was immersed in the academic world; attending seminars, meeting researchers and learning specialised laboratory techniques which not only spurred my interest in doing a PhD but was good preparation for starting it.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
My two main pieces of advice would be; first find an area of science that you are interested in because you dedicate a lot of time to it and it can get very niche! Secondly, if possible, I highly recommend working or volunteering in the laboratory group beforehand so that you get to know the work style, the people and your supervisor so you can make a sure decision that you want to embark on a PhD with them!
Rachel Walters
What is your PhD about?
My PhD is focused on the genetics of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). This is a form of heart disease which affects the pulmonary arteries. These are the structures that deoxygenated blood flows through from the heart to the lungs. I am trying to assess the effect of enhancers on genes which are linked to PAH to see how they might cause or contribute to disease. I knew I wanted to stay in the field of human disease and genomics, and I liked the project and the opportunities being in this lab would give me.
Why did you choose Imperial?
I knew I wanted to stay in the UK, so I looked for PhDs which interested me and were located here. In my interview for this PhD, I asked to see the facilities and the lab where I might be working. I was really impressed with the building and the separate office and lab space.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
I found my PhD through findaPhD.com. I knew I needed a fully-funded PhD, so I filtered out those that weren’t funded and found something which interested me. Then I sent off my CV and had a face-to-face interview.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
I read for an undergraduate degree in Biology at The University of Bath. At Bath, you have the option to take your third year out as a year in industry (placement). In this year I worked in a research lab at the University of Sydney (Australia) studying amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) using fruit flies. Having the opportunity to work on an independent project was really exciting and it made me want to do a PhD.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
It’s important to make sure you’ll fit in in the lab that you’re doing your PhD in. When you’re in the interview ask questions about lab meetings or the social side of the lab. Do they meet up outside of work? Go for dinners or drinks? If a social lab is important to you, ask about it in the interview! Also, make sure you take time off. Burnout is a real problem in this industry and it’s important to remember to take care of yourself throughout the PhD.
Kelly De Coteau
What is your PhD about?
My PhD looks at the genetics of cardiovascular diseases. We all have genetic variance and some people have a combination of these variances that can increase their risk of developing a vascular disease. I look at the regulatory side of DNA and how that impacts your risks of developing a cardiovascular disease. I didn’t know that I wanted to focus on cardiovascular disease as a main topic but I was really interested in genomics and how genetics can affect your risk of developing the disease. When I read the advert, I saw that it integrated a lot of the methods I had learnt during my MSc which was great.
Why did you choose Imperial?
My first exposure to NHLI was through my MSc in Genomic Medicine and the experience I had gave a really great first impression of the department. Professor Mike Lovett and Dr Louise Blakemore are fantastic, both of them are very supportive. They are interested in your research and hearing about what you want to do next, and if you want to do a PhD, they’ll do as much as they can to help you get there.
The MSc itself was great as I had the opportunity to meet people from all areas of NHLI and get an idea of what I enjoyed doing. Also, there is always top-class research taking place at Imperial and being published in great journals or even making the news. You get a lot of opportunities at Imperial to collaborate with institutions globally.
Who are you funded by? Was it easy finding your funding?
My PhD was advertised on findaPhd.com but it was actually Professor Mike Lovett (who ran the MSc Genomic Medicine) who forwarded the advert to me as he thought it would something I’d be interested in. I’m funded by the British Heart Foundation on the four-year programme which includes the integrated MSc year. It’s a great scheme headed up by Professor Sian Harding. She sits down with you at the beginning and checks in to see how you are getting on so it’s a really friendly set up. I’ve also got really supportive supervisors and research group.
What were you doing before starting your PhD?
Before my PhD, I did my MSc in Genomic Medicine at NHLI. Between my MSc and this PhD I had a year off working. I’m glad I took that year off - I think if I had gone straight into the PhD from my MSc it might have been a bit too much for me, especially given that I have the additional MSc year included with this PhD.
Do you have any advice for someone considering a PhD?
I would recommend to research the group that you may be joining. Although it is important to make a good impression, it is also important that the group that you will be joining will be a good fit for you too. Reading their publications will be useful in determining if you would enjoy your own project and research area.
