Biomedical sciences

1st August 202326th July 2023

A day in the life with Amelia Guest

Interviewed and edited by Elayna Hugh-Jones

What do you study here at Newcastle University?

So I’m in my 2^nd year of Biomedical science, and I’m doing a placement year in September so it’ll be a 4 year degree for me. Then I’m thinking about further study, such as a Master’s or post-grad medicine.

What does a typical day look like for you?

So I’m an early bird, I get up around 6:30 and I take some time to wake up and have breakfast. Then if we have any 9am or 10am lectures I like to go to the Uni gym beforehand to start my day on a good note, which means I leave my house in Jesmond at about 7:30. We typically have 2 or 3 lectures a day and I’ll head to the Walton Library in between if we have any breaks. But if we have no lectures, Wednesdays are usually our days off, I still head to the library and set myself up for a day there. I’ll usually take my packed lunch and stay for the majority of the day and then head home for dinner. I and my housemates tend to all eat together which is a nice part of the day to look forward to.

11th March 202021st March 2022

My Summer Travels with Cryptosporidium

Rosie, our Biomed undergrad tells you of her experience working in Wales and Liverpool on a summer research placement

By Rosie Gathercole

Working with poo turned out to be exactly the summer experience I wanted!

I worked at the national Cryptosporidium Reference Unit (CRU) at Public Health Wales in Swansea with Professor Rachel Chalmers and her team. I received a Scholarship from the Society for Applied Microbiology (SfAM) for this placement, writing the application together with Rachel.

Rosie with a computer screen behind her showing the live spectra produced by the mass spec machine — Me working on my summer placement

Cryptosporidium is a parasite that causes diarrhoea, is found globally and is typically passed from animals, other people, food and fresh water sources. It is currently a human health issue due to the significant effect it has in developing countries and the lack of specific treatments to fight the parasite. Quite often how well you recover from the illness depends on how healthy you were to begin with!

29th February 202021st March 2022

Transitioning from NUMed to Newcastle

By Dania Hammadi

It’s bigger, bolder, brighter.

That’s how I would describe my experience transitioning to Newcastle University from NUMed. Life is pretty similar; people are friendly, the teaching is amazing, the city is as beautiful as home. The only difference is that these things are all bigger, bolder, and brighter here in the U.K. And I’m definitely not complaining!

The red bricks of Newcastle University's Armstrong building looking glorious in the sun — The red bricks of Newcastle University’s Armstrong building looking glorious in the sun

The move from Malaysia was definitely a tough one. I grew up in Penang, an island just northwest off mainland Malaysia, and this was the only home I’d known. Moving 10-hours away to Johor to start my degree in Biomedical Sciences was scary enough, but NUMed turned to be a home away from home. We’re such a small, tight-knitted community, and on campus we could bond in ways students in a larger university wouldn’t be able to.

“Choosing to begin my studies at NUMed has been the best decision I’ve ever made!”

20th September 201921st March 2022

New year, new name, new state of the art facilities!

An exciting year ahead! By Dr Debbie Bevitt

It’s nearly the start of the new academic year and the School is buzzing as we prepare to welcome our new Stage 1 students – and of course to welcome back our existing students!

We have an exciting year ahead, including a new name for the school and two major building developments which will provide much needed additional study space and specialist facilities for our students.

We have a new name!

Continue reading “New year, new name, new state of the art facilities!”