MSc in Medical Biology

About the programme: I like that the program covers a wide variety of subjects, from the molecular level of the brain and synapses, to stem cell biology, systems neuroscience and behavioural neuroscience. I also appreciate that we have lots of space for electives which enable the study program to be more tailored to each students interests.

The atmosphere in class: All students that met on introday are very open with each other. I find it more difficult to connect to others who I don't know yet. This is especially challenging coming from a small university.

Internship: I am doing an internship at the Donders Center for Cognitive Neuroscience and I think it is really interesting. Doing an internship teaches you a lot more about the way things are done than could ever be taught to you in a class.

What do you like about the programme and why? How has the programme challenged you?
One particular reason I really liked this programme is because it allows you to actually choose (most of) your own subjects instead of giving you a strict programme to follow. There are a few introductory mandatory courses but the rest is completely up to you, including two full-time internships! Human biology can be a very broad field so the fact that I was able to choose those topics that actually drive my passion for science was a big plus when I decided to come to Radboud University, as well as finishing the master with at least 12 months of real life research experience through the thesis and internships, which would definitely broaden my future career possibilities. Another interesting thing is that there are plenty of group projects and presentations in the courses compared to my previous education. It's definitely a lot of work but it's also worth it in terms of preparing us for what comes next after the master's.

What do you think about the atmosphere in class?
I think that, for starters, the atmosphere in the Netherlands is much more informal than what I was used to in Spain. I'd say that for example, here, interrupting the professor to raise some questions and allow for discussion is not only encouraged but actually even expected in the lectures and it's something quite refreshing for me. The fact that several professors give lectures in one single course is also a great way to get in touch with different points of view and research possibilities on the same subject.

Are you currently doing an internship? Or what is your thesis about?
Yes, I've just finished my internship at RadboudUMC in collaboration with RIMLS at the Department of Translational Metabolic Laboratory and I'm currently writing my thesis now. I've been working on two differents projects at the same time with both primary cells (human fibroblasts) and stem cells (embryonic and hIPSCs) while studying the effects of a possible galactose supplementation treatment in PGM1-CDG deficiency, a rare sugar metabolism disease, using a broad set of techniques that include physiological experiments through Seahorse and Oroboros equipment, RNA extraction and mass spectrometry.