Having presented two posters at the 17th International Student Congress of Medical Sciences (ISCOMS), which took place on June 9–10, 2010, at the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG), Groningen, Netherlands, I was invited to take part in an ISCOMS international research fellowship (IRF). This opportunity enabled me to participate in ongoing fundamental research in a laboratory of my choice. My application for the IRF was selected, along with 21 others, on the basis of my previous research experience, my curriculum vitae, a letter of recommendation from one of my previous supervisors, and a letter of motivation for applying for an IRF.

I chose to work in the department of pathology and medical biology during my IRF as the project that was offered to me appealed the most. I worked on the validation of a mouse model for the study of diabetes enhanced restenosis. In doing so, I obtained experience in performing (immuno) histochemical and immunofluorescent stainings as well as subsequent quantitative computerised morphometric analyses. This was something new to me as there are few opportunities to do similar research in developing countries like Pakistan.

Life at UMCG was hectic but fun at the same time. It was a pretty long walk from the University International Housing Office (where I stayed) to the hospital. The working day would kick off with a cup of hot chocolate for me, after which it would be attending the lab and working on the project which was assigned to me; attending the noon lunch conference and finally some literature research in the University’s Central Library, sometimes till late in the evening in order to write up an abstract of my work. Honestly speaking, it took me a few days to settle myself into the Dutch system and the working style of the research lab, as it was very different from my previous research experiences. But even the long hours of work didn’t seem tiring because of the constant motivation from the supervisors and the incredibly conducive environment at the UMCG.

Time flew by pretty quickly as I got more and more satisfied with my work. There was so much to learn from the supervisors at the UMCG—some of the best research and the latest equipment, including a TissueFAXS machine—and a whole new face of the research world opened to me. I learned so much in this short span of 2 weeks.

The hard core research activity of the mornings was at times followed by an evening’s social programme organised by the ISCOMS organisation. These would usually be dinners at famous restaurants with all the participants being invited. One such programme included a global dinner, where each participant had to cook a dish that represented their country. Finally, as the entire IRF came to a close, each of the 22 participants had to present their abstracts. This provided a basis for everyone to learn more about the work their fellow IRF participants undertook and how they made the most of their time.

Overall, the entire ISCOMS Congress and IRF was a remarkable learning experience. Moreover, it gave me an opportunity to widen my social circle and interact with students with similar research backgrounds and interests as me.

At this point I would like to thank Professor Jaan Luk Hillebrands, Jill Moser and the entire ISCOMS team for making this a success for me. I shall cherish the memories for many years to come.

Mohsin Shah
mohsin255(a)hotmail.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 27th, 2010 at 11:24 am and is filed under Electives, Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can trackback from your own site.