Student blogs

As I begin the second year of the Translational Physiology and Pharmacology (TPP) programme, I’m looking forward to one of the most exciting parts of the course (the research projects and thesis!) There are so many different research groups at KI working on all types of topics that you can choose from. When deciding on a master’s programme, what groups I could do my research projects + thesis in was a significant factor in my decision. So, this blog aims to give prospective students an idea of what the possibilities are, and what TPP second year students are doing their projects in.

Camila: neuroscience/receptor pharmacology, three groups

I will be doing my research projects and thesis in three* different research groups at KI, my first research project will be at Gregoria Kalpouzo’s NeuroimAging group, my second research project will be at Kozielewicz’s group and my thesis is yet to be determined. My thought process behind this is that I want to figure out what I really like to do, and gaining some experience in different types of research felt like a good way to achieve this. My first research project will be with the Aging Research Centre, in Gregoria Kalpouzo’s NeuroimAging group. I will be investigating the correlation between brain stiffness, aging and blood perfusion. The methods I will be using include, MRI data acquisition, MRI image analysis and statistics. In addition, my second research project will be at  the Kozielewicz group. My research project will involve researching the molecular pharmacology of GPCRs. The techniques I will be using include BRET, omics and some others. My thesis is yet to be determined!

Elisa: tumor microenvironment, one group

Both of my research projects and thesis will be done in the group Translational studies on tumour microenvironment in Arne Östman’s Team, at KI. I chose to do them in one group because I had a great experience during my summer internship. I can contribute to different projects and learn a variety of techniques, and by already being familiar with the lab group and the projects, I feel like I can get the most out of my time with the research projects. For the research project, I will be investigating how fibroblasts modulate sensitivity to tamoxifen in estrogen-positive breast cancer. I will be performing techniques like cell transduction, qPCR, and studying effects on cell growth and morphology. The focus for my thesis project has not been defined yet.

Belinda: lung research, in industry

I will be doing COPD research all in the same group, at Astra Zeneca in Gothenburg. The project that I applied for and was meant to last around two semesters, so simply because that was the time allocated to the overall project I am doing it in this group only. I also know I am interested in this field of research so I didn’t mind staying in the same group as long as we try different methods throughout. We managed to split it up into 3 parts that would be acceptable for the 3 different assessments: research project 1 & 2, and the thesis. We will be doing cell culture mainly, including air liquid interface culture and potentially some different downstream assays (for example, qPCR, maybe ELISAs).

Miguel: cancer immunotherapy, one group

I will be doing both my research projects and thesis in cancer immunotherapy at Nordin’s lab, working with CAR T and NK cells. I will be doing everything in the same group at KI. I chose to have all of them in the same group because I had a summer internship in that group and I really liked what they work with and the way they explain. Therefore, because of this I believe it was a good idea to continue there as they also work with topics that I really like. As part of the study of CAR NK and T cells we will be using methods like cloning, transfection, transduction, flow cytometry, co-culture and more!

Lesley: neuroimmunovascular biology/molecular muscle physiology, two groups

I am doing the research projects in neuroimmunovascular biology in Harald Lund’s lab and will be conducting my thesis in Molecular muscle physiology and pathophysiology in Lanner’s lab. Both labs belong to the Fyfa (Pharmacology and Physiology) department but focus on different tissues and pathologies. I’m doing it in two different labs because I wanted to diversify my CV as much as possible – each lab will equip me with a different experimental toolbox and expose me to research across different tissues. For my research project I will be characterising subpopulations of macrophages in the peripheral nervous system. To this end, immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging will be the primary methods. While my thesis question is not yet fully defined, it will focus on investigating molecular changes in skeletal muscle across different pathologies, such as fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis. This will involve a mix of techniques, especially metabolic assays. For my research project I will be characterising subpopulations of macrophages in the peripheral nervous system. To this end, immunohistochemistry and confocal imaging will be the primary methods. While my thesis question is not yet fully defined, it will focus on investigating molecular changes in skeletal muscle across different pathologies, such as fibromyalgia or rheumatoid arthritis. This will involve a mix of techniques, especially metabolic assays.

Tora: haematology, study abroad

I’ll be doing my research projects at the Moores Cancer Center, University of California San Diego. The project will focus on biomarker discovery for Multiple Myeloma, where I will be analyzing blood samples. I decided to do both research projects at the same lab to have enough time to get comfortable with techniques and deepen my knowledge within that research area.

Rebecca: clinical muscle physiology, one group

I am doing both my research project and thesis on measuring skeletal muscle size and cardiac function on running performance in children in different stages of puberty. I am doing all in one group, as I have a very specific interest in this research and I would like to continuously develop on this throughout my remaining months at KI. I will be assessing different parameters such as VO2 max and looking at thigh MRIs. I think that my projects and thesis will involve more dry lab/ data analysis rather than lab techniques.

Takeaways

Finding and choosing a research project/thesis group can be daunting but also an exciting experience. As you can see, students are doing a variety of different research topics, in different places, and everyone is excited to start! I hope this blog has given you insight into what some of the possibilities are!

*Currently in the programme we have 2 five week research projects, and one longer thesis. You can choose to do your research groups and thesis in three different groups, two different groups for or all within the same group. It just depends on what you want to get out of it! It’s important to note that this could change in the following years.