During the two-month summer internship programme, I engaged in a research project to inspect the responsiveness of an angiogenesis-specific enhancer to chronic hypoxia in different mouse tissues.

 

The experiments were mainly carried out in Dr Sarah De Val’s lab in the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. In the research, I conducted cryosection and immunohistochemistry experiments to process multiple kinds of organs or tissues from mice treated either normoxia or hypoxia conditions. Then I could check the fluorescence signal of reporter proteins by use of the confocal microscope, collect images and further analyse the result. In addition to the bench work, I also made several presentations to share the results and discussed with other members in the lab.

 

Outside the laboratory, I attended some seminars on different science topics to broaden my horizons. The session on defending a doctoral dissertation made a great impression on me.

 

All in all, I was able to improve myself comprehensively and get in touch with Oxford closely through various activities.

 

This internship experience undoubtedly benefited me in many aspects of development. First of all, it was a precious opportunity for me to learn basic research skills, like reading literature, doing experiments, analysing results, making presentations, etc. In this process, I gain more knowledge about developmental biology which is new to me, and improved my scientific practice and critical thinking.

I also made improvements in cultivating valuable qualities like self-reliance, communication and confidence. I learned to be organised and managed my travel. I tried to exchange ideas with others more efficiently and my ability to express myself improved. All of this progress gave me more confidence to face future challenges.

 

I have met a group of excellent fellows through this great platform, which is definitely helpful for career development.

 

In summary, thanks to this programme I have accumulated abundant experience and become more confident for future research career.

 

I really have to express my sincere appreciation to the Victor and William Fung Foundation. The funding provided me with nice accommodation and supported my daily expenses. Thanks to the Fung scholarship I was able to concentrate on my research work and get to know a group of outstanding peers.