JW Goethe Universitaet Frankfurt am Main
Sam is a stem cell biologist. He did his Bachelor degree in medical laboratory sciences at An-Najah University (Palestine, 2014). Then he worked at the blood bank of An-Najah Hospital. In 2016, he graduated from Newcastle University (UK) with a master by research degree (MRes) in stem cells and regenerative medicine. His research was about using induced pluripotent stem cells technology in disease modelling.
Sam is an excellent swimmer and he has a real passion for travel and hiking.
Sam's visit to the University of Birmingham
Sam recently did a research secondment at the University of Birmingham in Prof. Guenther's group. He received intensive training in NMR technology and its applications in metabolomics (metabolic fluxes). What he found most interesting in the Birmingham group was the quality of their research and the close supervision and assistance afforded, besides the very social and wonderful group members.
Sam believes that having the chance to work with other groups, in renowned institutions, during his PhD is one of the great things about being a Marie Curie fellow.
It has almost been a year since I started the PhD (July 2017)…. By Islam Alshamleh
Earlier in my PhD, I did a research secondment at the University of Birmingham, besides another course of training on major biological techniques. In addition to the technical experience I acquired during these courses, I believe that my research skills, abilities and thinking have improved, which helped me in progressing with my project. I am also working on my soft skills, as a researcher and potential group leader in the future, by attending many workshops on leadership, strategic planning and networking, academic writing and presentation skills. Not forgetting the social part of my stay in Germany, I have been learning the German language, though it is not needed for my research, in order to integrate in the society. I have also explored some German cities -in my limited free weekends-, and looking forward for the rest…
Back in Birmingham …
Further to my previous visit to Birmingham (November-December, 2016), I went back to again (December 2017-January2018) for a one-month visit to analyse some samples I have been working on over the last few months. Birmingham has an advanced NMR facility that provides high sensitivity for the metabolomics analysis. During my stay, I received substantial help and advice from Prof. Guenther group for analysing my data. I believe that such collaboration and research exchange between the groups certainly improve my scientific output and prepare me for the academic future. Thanks HaemMetabolome.