My path to the PhD project I wanted

My search for a PhD place was rather more organised than my, admittedly flukey, admission onto my undergraduate placement (documented here). Spending my placement year surrounded by people who had either completed or were in the midst of a PhD themselves somehow didn't put me off the idea, so in September 2017, I started my search for the perfect PhD opportunity. I wanted to find a project which utilised electrophysiology, a technique I got a taste for during my placement, to measure brain cell activity, and in particular to investigate what goes wrong in neurodegenerative diseases.

My search began on findaphd.com, where I regularly used the search feature to find new adverts for PhDs involving electrophysiology. I also set up email alerts for new PhD opportunities in Biological & Medical Sciences, so that I wouldn't miss any opportunities of interest that didn't explicitly mention electrophysiology.

Through these email alerts, I found a project investigating the role of an ion channel in Alzheimer's disease. I used the contact form on findaphd.com to message the supervisor, and we arranged to speak more about the project over the phone. This ended up being a mini-interview, in which I summarised my research experience and its relevance to the project, and was then able to ask my own questions. I discovered that there would be no electrophysiology in the project itself, which was disappointing, but at least it meant I hadn't wasted time applying for a project which wasn't right for me.

Several of my former labmates' PhDs were part of a Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) with three other universities, which was funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC). This structure enabled the students to be part of collaborative research between two or more institutions, and have access to a broad range of specialist equipment, not to mention funding for additional training opportunities, which could involve going abroad! I found several interesting projects on this scheme being advertised for my year, and used findaphd.com to contact a potential supervisor, who was impressed with my qualifications and experience to date. When it came to the application, I added second and third choices in the hope of maximising my chances of success, but I eventually found out that I hadn't been shortlisted for an interview (on my birthday, of all days!).

Undeterred, I put in another couple of applications over the Christmas holidays, this time for projects funded internally within the respective universities,  rather than by an external Research Council. The first project (Project #1) proposed to investigate a neurodevelopmental disorder using in vivo electrophysiology, and I was delighted to be chosen by the project supervisor as the preferred candidate! The second project (Project #2) also used in vivo electrophysiology, but this time to investigate the effects of a drug which was found to slow down neurodegeneration in a mouse model. Project #2 was also an industrial collaboration, which would provide an opportunity to work at a pharmaceutical company for a year. Five days after submitting my application for Project #2, I was invited for a Skype interview with the three project supervisors, with just 19 hours' notice! I was uncharacteristically calm the night before, then despite the interview starting half an hour late, I managed to stay calm and give well-thought-out responses, which led to me being selected as the candidate!

However, being selected by the supervisors was only half the story. For Project #1, I had to have a face-to-face panel interview in early February alongside five other candidates for different projects, and only the top candidate would receive the scholarship. The process for Project #2 was very different; once I'd been selected as the candidate, the lead supervisor and I modified my original application, and the new version was one of 24 applications from across the university sent to the Selection Committee, of which only 10 received funding. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to secure the funding for either of these opportunities, but the experiences did prove useful.

There was no time to be sad, however, as I had another interview the following week! Project #3 was similar to Project #2, but used in vitro electrophysiology rather than in vivo. The project was within an MRC DTP similar to the one I applied for originally, but this time I chose to apply only for one project. I left the interview thinking I could've done more, but I had actually done well enough to get on the DTP – the problem was, another student higher up the rankings had already accepted the project I wanted. I visited another lab offering a project loosely related to my interests, but while the lab members were very welcoming, I ultimately chose to continue searching for an opportunity better aligned with my interests.

In the time between my interview for Project #3 and my decision not to take the alternative project, two more projects had taken my interest. Project #4 proposed to use in vitro electrophysiology to investigate a gene which is a risk factor for Alzheimer's Disease, while Project #5 wasn't related to neurodegenerative diseases, but would still provide training in electrophysiology, as well as behavioural experiments. Both projects had funding secured, so the only hurdle was to be chosen by the supervisors. I was shortlisted for both projects and got on well at the interviews, but in mid-March I had an unexpected phone call from the lead  supervisor of Project #2, notifying me of a new funding opportunity which had arisen for the same project.

The new funding for Project #2 was also part of an MRC DTP, but the selection process was more similar to the arrangement for Project #1, in that one candidate for each of the six projects would be interviewed, but this time the top two students received funding. Later in March I arranged to meet the lab members, and I was thoroughly impressed with their enthusiasm about their research and the contribution of Project #2 to their overall research aims. I was also fortunate to meet a senior researcher/manager from the industrial collaborator and find out how she progressed to that stage. By the end of the day, I was completely sold on the idea of joining their lab, and in the following weeks I did my best to prepare for the interview. Seven weeks later, I was back in the lab for a practice interview, and the following day I was the top-performing student in the panel interview, therefore I had finally secured a project I really wanted!

Now, 7 months after I was initially denied funding for it, I'm preparing to starting my ideal PhD! I'm so thankful that my supervisors kept me in mind and persevered to find another funding source, and I hope to keep you updated during my PhD journey.

All four done!

The last two years have been by far the most busy of my life so far, so you can forgive me for neglecting to post here during the third and final years of my degree course, right?

In September it will be two years since I moved to Exeter to complete an Alzheimer's Research UK funded research placement, measuring the effects on the brain of drugs which affect epigenetics using a technique called electrophysiology. My placement year was more useful than I ever could have imagined, and really did affirm that I want to continue in biomedical research, specifically using electrophysiology to further our understanding of brain function and how communication between brain cells is altered in disease. In January 2017 I achieved a solid 72% for my literature review and project plan, and after that I really threw myself in to both lab and student life; on some occasions I would work until 9pm and then meet up with friends and stay out until the early hours!

My project was originally due to finish at the end of July, but I was a bit slow getting started on the non-electrophysiology aspect, which consisted of running samples on gels to determine whether the drugs affected the epigenetics (unfortunately, we didn't show that they did). I finally left in September, which meant the writing of my report coincided with the beginning of final year. After returning to Exeter to give some presentations and producing a poster on my project, I achieved 73% for the unit, my first at Master's level.

The final year of the course was very well planned and consisted of five units, with the first four delivered primarily via lectures from September to February, and the fifth comprising the MSci project, poster presentation, and an extra exam in May on top of those for Units 2 to 4. Unit 1 teaching built on the statistics lectures from second year, which was easier for me thanks to performing several one-way and two-way ANOVAs during my project. We were also introduced to whole-animal experimental design, which was wonderfully complemented by an optional in vivo skills course I undertook just before Christmas. After receiving results of the January statistics exam and the February figure interpretation exam, I calculated that I had achieved 84% in Unit 1, the best start I could've hoped for!

The Unit 2, 3 and 4 lectures were delivered sequentially from mid-October onwards, and each unit included a piece of coursework (essay or data interpretation) accounting for 10% of the marks as well as a 3-hour exam in May. I was pleased to achieve 78 in the Unit 2 and Unit 3 essays, and 85 in the Unit 4 data interpretation, but the fact that 90% of each unit would be decided in the exam hall was rather daunting. I then had my Unit 5 coursework to contend with, which involved writing a grant proposal with little guidance, but I powered through and just like in third year received 72, plus 83 for my grant proposal defence.

Irritatingly, our exam timetable for May was published a week late (plus the timings of my exams prevented me from going to the French Open), but the schedule was helpful as it gave us an extra week of revision time before exams began. Unit 3 was first up, which I found quite tricky, in particular the section 1 experimental design question. Two days later it was Unit 4 time, and annoyingly I remembered a crucial piece of information for one of the essays just after the exam. I then had five days of focused revision for the Unit 2 exam, and I was relieved to find essay questions based on both of my favourite topics. The following afternoon was the MSci exam, for which we had to answer one of four questions covering broad themes across the other units. I was delighted that a question on allosteric modulators came up, as I had researched them extensively for a PhD opportunity I was interested in.

Other than Unit 1 and the Unit 5 project, we had to wait until 28 June to find out our final year grades and the degree classification we would be graduating with. On that day I was travelling in Macedonia, so I had to get through a three-and-a-half hour train ride plus a taxi ride to our hotel in Skopje before I could find out. My final results were:

Unit 1: 84
Unit 2: 78
Unit 3: 67
Unit 4: 69
Unit 5: 75

… which means I got a First! And, I discovered at Graduation on Monday, achieved the highest mark on the MSci Pharmacology course, although we all got Firsts!

So this is where I am now, graduated and looking forward to the next chapter, which will hopefully be confirmed soon!