Peter Elliot

Since a young age I was always fascinated with how things worked. Through school that developed into trying to understand the intricate details of biology. In 2005 I started my undergraduate degree, in Biochemistry, at York University. As part of the course I was able to take a year out to work in a real laboratory down in London at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew. This experience strengthened my desire to be involved in cutting edge research.
Having graduated from York in 2009 I decided the next step for me was to undertake a PhD. Having already decided I wanted to stay in the North of the country I soon found that there were a large number of programmes from Manchester that sounded very interesting and worthwhile. In the end I chose a PhD in the MIB in the Munro group which had a multidisciplinary aspect to it.
My work involves the characterisation of a novel protein, a cytochrome P450, isolated from the food borne pathogen Campylobacter jejuni. As no-one else works on this protein each result is something new which is very exciting. In the Munro group the focus is on over expressing proteins and performing biophysical analyses to determine their function. My project also focuses on analysing the bacterium itself to try and identify a role of my protein in vivo.
Now three years into my PhD I can honestly say for the most part it has been a very enjoyable experience. It is not just my lab competence which has grown. I have taken part in a range of other activities, including demonstrating, conferences and public engagement all of which look good on any C.V. All this would not have been achieved had it not been for the ability of Manchester University to provide a wide range of training and opportunity.

Jie Yang

I graduated with a BSc degree in Mathematics in 2008 and was looking for a PhD where I could apply my analytical skills to the field of biological studies. Therefore, when I saw the advert for a Systems Biology PhD issued by the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB), I knew that this was the ideal PhD for me.

This four year PhD programme consists of 1 year of taught courses with rotation projects and 3 years working on a project of your choosing. I especially found the first year constructive as we were provided with invaluable training on various topics ranging from Cell Biology, Bioinformatics, and Chemistry, to my original field of expertise, Mathematics. The diverse range of students from different backgrounds enabled us to share our different experiences and gain knowledge on subjects we were unfamiliar with before. For instance, I learnt experimental techniques from my fellow PhD students, while I helped them with the mathematical side of analysing a biological model.

My PhD project focuses on the prediction of combination efficacy in cancer therapy. This project is also partially based in AstraZeneca, a global pharmaceutical company, which I have found useful in gaining an industrial perspective in the way mathematical models are employed as experimental guidance tools in identifying potential new drug compound targets. The MIB has provided an outstanding multi-disciplinary research environment with access to state-of-the-art facilities and world-renowned researchers, some involved in the development of computational software that is now utilised prominently in Systems Biology.

Amelia Markey

I have always enjoyed science from a young age. It seemed like a natural step to undertake a degree in Biology as this has always been the subject I have enjoyed the most and in which I have had the best results. In 2005 I began a 3 year BSc in Biological Science at Lancaster University. I really enjoyed my time at Lancaster and wanted to continue to learn more about biology but I wasn't sure if a PhD, which is very different to an undergraduate degree, was right for me. When I graduated from Lancaster in 2008 with a first class honours I decided to join the MRes Translational Medicine masters course at the University of Manchester, based in the Manchester Interdisciplinary Biocentre (MIB). This course comprised of 8 weeks of taught modules where  we learnt about everything from academic writing, presentation and study design to the cutting edge research in genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics and metabolomics. The taught section was then followed by a 35 week research project, which I carried out in the MIB in the Day and Goddard/Fielden labs, developing a novel microfluidic device to perform the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). This interdisciplinary project certainly put me out of my comfort zone when dealing with the physics and instrumentation of microfluidics. However the way in which multiple disciplines are brought together to produce high-quality, novel research was a revelation to me. After graduating from the MRes course I wanted to continue this work and so a project was written under the supervision of Prof. Goddard, Prof. Fielden and Dr. Day to develop a novel microfluidic device to perform cell lysis, Whole Genome Amplification and DNA storage. I'm now in the last 18 months of this 3.5 year BBSRC funded project. I have learnt many skills during my PhD including those of scientific writing, presentation and technical skills in multiple disciplines but most importantly I have developed skills in working as part of an interdisciplinary team and innovation skills, which only an interdisciplinary project could provide. Aside from the project itself the University of Manchester provides many opportunities to further your development such as demonstrating in undergraduate labs, public engagement and workshops/training courses. I enjoy getting involved in as many of these aspects as possible to provide me with a well-rounded skill set which I'm sure will be beneficial in my future career no matter which sector I choose.

Trevor McArdle

I was awarded my M.Chem. from Newcastle University in 2009 after spending an industrial placement year working for Nalco, a chemical additive company based within an oil refinery. After graduating I worked for about a year producing carbon nanotubes with the company Thomas Swan. I found working in industry enjoyable, but I realised that I wanted the freedom to express my own ideas and pursue research, something that’s more difficult without a doctorate.

NowNano began with a six-month introductory course in to all things ‘nano’. The lectures and projects gave me a deeper insight into nanoscience across many disciplines and really prepared me for work in an interdisciplinary environment. I think it gave us all a broad background in many different subject areas, and let us know how much expertise Manchester has to offer. Upon completion of the taught course, I began a jointly supervised project with Dr Christopher Blanford and Dr Ian Kinloch in Materials Science, and Prof. Robert Dryfe in Chemistry. I am researching the synthesis and use of low-dimensional carbon materials as electrodes for bioelectocatalysis. My project joins electrochemistry, materials science and biochemistry, so the MIB is a great home for such a cross-disciplinary project.

Being at Manchester University has allowed me to begin creating a strong network of diverse people. Because I have three supervisors across two schools, I have learnt a variety of different techniques to aid me in my research, thanks to efficient training and the availability of equipment. In my first six months alone I have been exposed to SEM, TEM, Raman spectroscopy and protein purification and handling. I feel confident that I will complete my Ph.D. and leave with a skills range that will impress any employer.