Gaining research experience at WEHI
June 24, 2022
Year 2 Life Sciences students Kelly Voo (front row, third from left), Dohadwala Alefiya Taher (front row, fourth from right) and Julia Zhu (front row, third from right) with WEHI staff and other students of the InSPIRE programme.
Three students from the Special Programme in Science (SPS) have been awarded a fully-funded internship to participate in the International Student Program in Research Experience (InSPIRE) hosted by the Walter Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), Australia’s oldest medical research institute.
Julia ZHU, Kelly VOO and Alefiya Taher DOHAWALA – all Year 2 Life Science majors – are currently hosted by WEHI’s scientists in the research fields of cell signalling and infectious diseases.
Specifically, Julia is working in the laboratory of Assoc Prof James VINCE and Prof James MURPHY, which studies inflammation. Kelly and Alefiya are hosted at the research laboratories of Prof Alan COWMAN and Prof Wai-Hong THAM, respectively. Both laboratories focus on malaria research.
We checked in with the students recently, and all three of them said it has been an eye-opening experience.
Alefiya says, “It is tremendously exciting to be given the opportunity to work in a city renowned for its life sciences research!”
Julia says, “Not only has the programme allowed me to explore cutting-edge biomedical research and gain hands-on experience with new laboratory techniques, it has also exposed me to a work culture and learning environment that is different from what I’m used to.”
While the programme is an exciting learning opportunity for all three students, Kelly admits to having initial apprehension about her ability to cope and having to navigate in an unfamiliar country.
“However, with the support of the other InSPIRE students, the organisers, my host family and my loved ones back home, those fears were unfounded and I’ve been managing well!”
The InSPIRE programme offers promising international undergraduate students the opportunity to work with WEHI’s scientists. The programme will be held from mid-May to end July 2022.
The SPS was set up in 1996 to expose small groups of students to knowledge and skills beyond their academic specialisations. Since then, it has nurtured young scientists in broad areas of contemporary science through multidisciplinary research and a unique student mentorship programme.
To find out more about the SPS, visit https://sps.nus.edu.sg/
