My name is Jean Pierre Ngangali and I am a PhD student, working with Professor Melanie Newport and Professor Leon Mutesa. My work concerns the genetics of podoconiosis, and is part of a joint programme between Brighton Sussex Medical School’s Global Health Research Unit on NTDS, and the University of Rwanda, College of Medicine and Health Science.
As part of my PhD, I have been doing different community engagements, sample collections, and lab work back home (in Rwanda) as well as planning my first trip here in the UK for specialized training and laboratory procedures.
From September until December 2024, I enjoyed my first stay in Brighton. I found good people around me willing to support, and a conducive research environment. Part of my fond memories are my induction time, learning medical research building processes and long days processing podoconiosis cases and control cells for flow cytometry immunophenotyping.
I enjoyed my supervisor meetings weekly where we discussed updates on laboratory experiments, bioinformatics analysis tools, and progress research updates for the Medical and Global Health Research Team.
A new research idea and approach hit my mind every Thursday from fellow students and mentor research fellows on research innovative ideas to address global health problems.
In my free time, the BSMS campus environment and Stanmer Park were my main source of relaxation. I always enjoyed watching the multi-coloured leaves views on the top of the tree, which I watched through the Medical Research Building windows during incubation break time between our cell staining procedure steps. I was so happy to see leaves and flowers start falling as winter started.
At the weekends, I enjoyed most exploring nature sites. This included the complex nature in Stanmer Park with well organised wild fungi, and Devil’s Dyke National Trust, which was formed naturally just over 10,000 years ago in the last ice age, as scientist believes. I also visited Seven Sisters, a seaside walk, where I enjoyed seeing the sea, green valleys and the top of the Seven Sisters hills.
Jean Pierre is a PhD Student on the GHRU Phase 2, focusing on the mechanisms of disease in podoconiosis.
