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Meet the 2017 summer internship students

18.07.2017

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2017 summer students

The CNIO has received more than 650 applications to participate in this training program dedicated to undergraduate students

The six candidates selected are from Spain, Egypt, USA and Peru

The Laboratory Training Programme has been running for 15 years and has hosted around 200 students

One of the main objectives of the CNIO is to contribute both in terms of numbers and qualification to the increase of researchers in oncology by means of an extensive training programme. It includes practical laboratory courses for undergraduate students that have been running at the CNIO for the last 14 years. A few days ago, we welcomed the six students selected for the 2017 summer internship, young minds from four different countries focused on biomedical research, selected from more than 650 applicants.

“At the CNIO, we pay particular attention to training of our own staff. However, we also believe that is our responsibility to open our doors to external students, in Spain and abroad. Our Laboratory Training Programme is particularly satisfying”, explains Marisol Soengas, head of the CNIO Dean’s Office. “Each and every one of these students transmits a contagious energy. Their goal is not simply to learn techniques, but to really understand the “why” and “what” of the research conducted at the CNIO. They are offered the opportunity to participate in very competitive projects precisely because, due to their previous track record and their motivation, we believe they deserve the greatest support, ” she concludes.

Meet the 2017 summer students:

Soyun Park
Age: 21
University: UC Berkeley
Degree: Molecular and Cell Biology
“I have never been involved in translational medical research although I have always been very interested. After reading through some of the papers published by the Wagner lab I found their research, especially pertaining to organ cross talk, fascinating and thought it would be a perfect fit. Also, getting to do research abroad in a beautiful city like Madrid is a very special opportunity that I did not want to miss”.

“I hope to learn a great deal about the reasoning and thought process behind the elegant science of the Wagner lab. I would also love to learn some technical skills involving tissue culture and skills necessary to work with mice. But above all, I would like to get to know the people in my lab and develop lasting relationships”.

Daniel de la Nava Martín
Age: 22
University: University of Castilla-La Mancha (UCLM)
Degree: Biochemistry.
“It is an important opportunity for learning and discovering the real research in an international center. I hope to learn a lot of techniques and new scientific approaches”.

Marina Martínez Hernández
Age: 22
University: Universidad Carlos III Madrid
Degree: Biomedical Engineering
“I decided to apply to this program because the CNIO is an outstanding research institute in Spain and Europe and I wanted to have a first contact, improve my resume and thus have more opportunities in the future for applying to its PhD programs”.

“My main goal and expectation is learning lab techniques, learn to work in a research team and practice as much as I can all the theory that I have been learning during my bachelor’s years but I have not had the opportunity to apply directly by myself. In summary, take advantage of this opportunity and acquire as much skills as I can”.

Ashraf Saied Mahmoud Abdelghany
Age: 31
University: Al-Azhar University – Faculty Of Medicine
Degree: Bachelor Of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB)
“I have a great passion for cancer research. And CNIO is a world-class research center and one of the best research centres in Europe. On the other hand, Cancer is a very interesting field which I have a great passion and excitement to dedicate my life to it. Its art is as immortalised by Hippocrates – To cure sometimes, to treat often, to comfort always–. And this is the goal I will always aspire to achieve. That is why I have decided to come to the CNIO to get a great experience in cancer research at such prestigious research center like CNIO to help me pursue my career in cancer research”.

“I look forward to learning more about R statical software and how to perform survival analysis. In addition to interpreting and reporting results on survival analysis. I also hope to get used to the data managements skills, like data and sample collection and gathering”.

Mirabai Cuenca Ardura
Age: 20
University: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid
Degree: Biochemistry
“First of all, I decided I wanted to do some cancer research for my degree final project since this year I studied the molecular basis of several pathologies and cancer interested me the most. Besides, I get goose bumps every time I hear stories about people with cancer or meet these people, so I knew I would be highly motivated when it came to do this kind of research. Then, I decided the CNIO would be a very suitable place to develop my project because I have known it since I was 14 as one of the most prestigious research centres in Spain”.

“First and foremost, I hope to enjoy it and learn a lot. But, sincerely, I chose to go for this internship and not some other in which I could be paid (such as the one from CIBERONC) because I expect to make contacts (I was really excited about knowing other top students from different parts of the world). I also suppose this internship will be taken into account when I apply for future master and PhD grants, since it has been a really competitive process”.

Luz Alejandra Saavedra Sánchez
Age: 20
University: Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia
Degree: Biology
“I applied to CNIO summer program because I was seeking for an internship in which I could keep learning and growing as a scientist. So, being CNIO a globally well known institute, I knew that this was an excellent place to be part of. What is more, this internship offered us an invaluable opportunity to participate from the Research of one of its groups, and since I’ve been always been interested in neuroscience, to me being part of Manuel Valiente Team was a great chance to keep understanding how brain behaves now from a different perspective of Brain metastasis”.

“Loving science and coming from a country like Peru in which Science is on its early steps, makes this an amazing opportunity of life and indeed fills me of happiness and enthusiasm. Being a summer student is allowing me to learn from high level scientists, while I work in such a fascinating topic as Brain Metastasis. In addition to that, within this internship, I will continue developing my skills as an independent researcher, being able to designe and evaluate my own experiments, becoming more confident in my abilities to perform hands-on laboratory tasks and strengthening my skills to analyse and present my data”.

Get more information about the Laboratory Training Programme.

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