Research Training Fund Report – Linda van Bijsterveldt

Wellcome Genome Campus, Cambridge, UK
19 – 28 June 2019

This summer, I had the privilege to attend a course on RNA transcriptomics organised by the Wellcome Genome Campus (advanced courses). RNA transcriptomics, and specifically single-cell RNA sequencing, has opened up exciting possibilities for studying gene expression within individual cells. The technique has brought to light how genetic information can change between different cells in a population, for instance a tumour. I hope this new technology can help me understand how individual cancer cells respond and evolve in response to different therapies, and how resistance to certain drugs arises, as that is the topic of my DPhil.

The course was held on the Wellcome Genome Campus in Hinxton, close to Cambridge. The Campus is home to some of the world’s foremost institutes and organisations in genomics and computational biology, including the Sanger Centre, where one third of the human genome was sequenced for the first time (as part of the Human Genome Project)!

During the course, where I was with 17 other PhD students and post-docs from all over the world, I got some hands-on training in laboratory and statistical methods, learned all about the applications of transcriptomics in different fields of research, ranging from immunology to malaria-resistance, and had very interesting, informal discussions with distinguished scientist from all over the world. The course had some excellent instructors, including some Oxford-based professors, and some great guest speakers that gave talks in the evenings.

I have gained an incredible amount of new knowledge and I am looking forward to applying it in my own research.

Find out more about the range of travel grants and scholarships available to assist Univ students on our Travel Grants page or read further travel reports.

Published: 12 September 2019

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