Becoming International: My Lab Journey (series)

 

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my series “becoming International: My Lab Journey”. I always had the curiosity to know how people study and work in an international university, and I wanted to find a way to share my routine in a real international lab: how experiments are done, how PhD students organize their day, and what it feels like to build your career in one of the world's top university and so far from your home country.

I still remember the first time I put on a lab coat and entered in the lab. I felt a mix of imposter syndrome and pride: could I really contribute to this cutting-edge research? But, as I started learning, meeting my colleagues, and working on my experiments, I also felt proud of every small step I made.

I am pursuing my PhD at the University of Helsinki in Finland and spending all my day working in the department of virology in the faculty of medicine, my supervisor is the head of department. I have a 36-month fixed-term and full-time employment contract in the Doctoral Education Pilot in Precision Cancer Medicine (iCANDOC) with salary and grant to conclude my doctorate.

                               

My project is in Precision Cancer Medicine, I work in the Saksela’s Lab, my research group focused on protein interactions in viral cell biology and biotechnology. They build a novel platform of  very small and highly versatile antibody-mimetic proteins of human origin called Sherpabody (https://www.mdpi.com/2673-8449/5/2/13) that I am working against different Tumor-Associated Antigen (TAA). That scaffold is the start of my project.

My research focuses on a novel approach to cancer immunotherapy, using engineered Sherpabodies to construct and characterize several bispecific antibody-based immune-cell engager (BsAb-ICE) designs.

My first months in this new lab were training many new techniques such as molecule design, cloning and protein production that I need for executing my research, lab’s rules, and learning how the lab works. I really love that every student has their own lab desk to work, having my own workspace gave me a sense of responsibility and independence. Meetings and weekly journal club are mandatory, we can present the progress of our research and share articles that we read, it makes me feel part of a real scientific community.

                      

Many people imagine scientists making big discoveries every day in high-level, modern, research laboratories, with advanced scientific infrastructure, but real lab life is a mix of patience, repetition, a lot of work every day, and small victories. Every day in the lab teaches me more than just science, but it teaches resilience, problem-solving, and perseverance, all of which are essential for anyone dreaming of a career abroad.

I know that many students who dream about studying abroad have questions like: How do you adapt to a new country? What are the challenges? How do you manage language, weather, and building new friendships? These are all important topics, and I will explore them in future episodes of this series.

And so, I don’t lose the habit I want to share not only the science and techniques I work with but also the personal journey of becoming an international researcher. Along the way, I will include small English tips for those who, like me, are learning the language while chasing their dreams abroad. So, this series will include in each episode: Scientific vocabulary of the day, and English expressions used in laboratory research.

Welcome to my series, I can’t wait to take you along every step of the way, from the first nervous day in the lab to exciting experiments, unexpected challenges, and little moments of pride that make this journey so meaningful.