Elective Experience at the University of Glasgow Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Centre
The Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Centre
It was January 2009 and I can precisely recollect the instant of excitement, when I was greeted with the acceptance letter of University of Glasgow. I had been scheduled for a 6-week research elective at the new Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Centre, a centre committed to hard core leukemia research. After a long wait of eleven months, the moment had finally arrived. I was on my way to the United Kingdom for an exhilarating new learning experience.
As I settled myself at the Murano student village in Glasgow, it was already time for the beginning of my elective. I woke up around 6 in the morning and started the long walk towards the research centre. I got a bit confused at first, and had a hard time finding my way. After asking numerous people for directions I finally reached the 3rd floor of the new building on Shelley road – my workplace for the next month and a half. It was a warm welcome. I was given a workstation and an overview of the entire research centre mechanism along with details of the project I was going to work on in the forthcoming 6 weeks.
From the next day onwards it was a busy schedule of getting up at 7:30 in the morning, dressing up and reaching the centre at 8:45; attending the lab then occasionally shadowing the clinicians at various floors; attending the noon lunch conference and finally working on the project that was assigned to me, sometimes till late in the evening. Honestly speaking, it took me a few days to set myself into the system and work style of the research centre as I was used to the methods used back at my medical college in Pakistan. But even the long hours of work didn’t seem exhausting because of the interesting work and incredibly conducive environment. Discussing patient histories and carrying out physical examinations and then relating it all to the hematology questions required a lot of brainwork. In addition to that, it was a similar routine in the lab. Working for hours; finding the effects of drugs that were yet to be launched. My interest in hematology grew numerous folds during the elective. I got the chance of writing and submitting a case-report on Systemic Mastocytosis, a rare disorder, along with an abstract of my work to the 50th British Society of Hematology Annual Meeting. Not only that, I took this unique opening and wrote a full paper on my research project. My project included finding the effects of a novel aurora kinase inhibitor/Jak inhibitor, AT 9283 (Astex Therapeutics) on Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cells (CML) in vitro. This project highlighted the therapeutic potential of drugs like AT9283 and identified Jak2 as a valid target for further study in CML.
Days passed by rapidly and I felt more relaxed and pleased after each days work. There was so much to learn from at the Paul O’Gorman Leukemia Research Centre – the best research, the latest equipment, a whole new face of the research world opened to me. I learned so much in this short span of time. I had acquired all the confidence I ever needed to face the complex challenges that lay ahead. It would most certainly have not been possible without the constant support of my co-supervisors, Professor Tessa and Dr Heather, who put a lot of time and effort in making this elective an enormous success for myself.
From left to right: me, Dr Heather Jorgenson and Professor Tessa Holyoake
Overall the entire elective was truly an amazing experience. It taught me the fundamentals of quality research. The experience itself is most definitely worth having at least once. It entirely depends on oneself, as to how one can make the most out of his/her elective time. I surely made it a lot more rewarding for myself. I shall everlastingly remember and treasure the memories.
Mohsin Shah is a four year MBBS student at CMH Lahore Medical College in Pakistan
mohsin255@hotmail.com