Watch Emily talk about her research as an undergraduate on YouTube
Emily is taking part in brain cancer research at the University while studying for a medical degree. She is part of the EXSEL scholarship scheme which allows undergraduate medical students to strengthen their knowledge of fighting disease by taking part in cutting-edge research.
It was during a spell working in palliative care that Emily first met patients with glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain tumour. “There are four different grades of tumour and this is a grade four, the most serious,” she says. “The average life expectancy for patients is 12 to 14 months.”
Thanks to an EXSEL scholarship, Emily has contributed to the University’s research into a disease for which chemotherapy and radiotherapy have proven ineffective. She examined how different concentrations of a drug developed at the University of Leeds can influence the extent of tumour growth and is writing a paper on the research, which she hopes will be published in a medical journal.
Emily’s ambition is to move into academic surgery, both carrying out research and applying that knowledge to patients in the clinic. She says EXSEL has given her valuable early experience of research: “It has given an extra dimension to my degree studies and an amazing opportunity to contribute to work to help people with this disease.”