Elizabeth's placement: National University of Singapore

Elizabeth is currently in her third year of our Integrated Natural Sciences degree. Over the summer she spent six weeks on the Mechanobiology Institute Undergraduate Summer Training Programme at the National University of Singapore, where her work focused on epithelial tissue morphogenesis. Here, she tells us more about the experience.

Elizabeth during her poster presentation at the National University of Singapore.

Do you have any advice for anyone thinking about summer placements?

The INS course allows you to form great connections with the WMS researchers, so I’d say use this to your advantage by asking for their advice on writing application letters and discussing with them which opportunities might be best for you.

Tell us about your placement and what attracted you to it

I was chosen to take part in the Mechanobiology Institute (MBI) Undergraduate Summer Training (MUST) programme at the National University of Singapore (NUS). For six weeks, I was trained by Dr Natalie Dye to contribute to her current research into the collective cell dynamics driving epithelial tissue morphogenesis and presented my results to the MBI researchers in a poster session.

I applied to this internship because of the MBI’s alignment with the values of the INS course, particularly in its emphasis on using interdisciplinary techniques to tackle biological research questions.

What have you learned as part of the placement?

During the MUST internship, I was trained in many foundational and transferable techniques regularly used in developmental biology research. These included fly husbandry and the construction of genetic crosses to breed flies expressing genes of interest. I then learnt to perform larval dissections to remove specific tissues for microscope imaging. My mentor for the internship, Mariana, taught me how to analyse our data using cell segmentation, creating visually appealing and informative figures to add to my poster.

Have you enjoyed any experiences outside of the labs?

Singapore has so much to offer in terms of culture, history, food, and art so during the weekends I explored the city with the other MUSTees. I learnt so much in such a short space of time, especially during weekly sessions in which MBI researchers had the opportunity to present their current research and answer questions from fellow MBI members. Group events, including a dinner and salsa workshop, were also scheduled to break up our time outside of the lab by bringing the interns and PhD students together.

What are your plans after you graduate?

Meeting more PhD students and post-Docs made me more comfortable with the idea of having a career in scientific research, and I’m planning on applying to PhD programmes. I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to intern at NUS, as I now have an insight into what working in a lab outside of the UK would look like.

Internship support at Warwick

There are various support schemes available for those looking for biomedical internships, both internally and externally: