Hannah Sally
- Course: MBiol Medical Sciences
Hannah graduated with a MBiol in Medical Sciences from Leeds and now works as a Drug Analyst.
Why did you choose to come to Leeds University?
When I first came to visit Leeds, I instantly fell in love with the campus. After visiting many universities on open days for similar courses, the content of the Medical Sciences BSc sounded the most interesting and I knew I would enjoy the format of the course. I loved that it was flexible to pick modules you found most interesting.
What did you enjoy about your course?
Its flexibility in choosing modules. I really enjoyed the lab classes as they were varied and covered many different techniques. The lecturers are passionate about the topics they teach. Also, I loved the autonomy we were given in designing and carrying out our final year research projects.
What have been the highlights of the course?
I really enjoyed working on my final year research project and felt I learnt a lot of project organisation skills which have been useful for my career. I also enjoyed the chance to learn in an interactive environment in the lab classes and seminars. Additionally, I got a place on the final year in vivo research skills course which I really enjoyed. It was great to get a hands on learning experience and it really increased my knowledge of preclinical research which has been beneficial for my job today.
What were your greatest challenges throughout your degree course?
The course topics are challenging and really require a lot of background reading to fully understand and engage with the topic. Sometimes it did feel like we were expected to learn a lot of information for assessment.
Tell me about how staff support helped you throughout your time at university?
Staff were very supportive and would provide you with a lot of learning materials to help you with the course topics. My final year research project tutor was great at providing support and advice to get the most out of the project. Also, my personal tutor provided me with career advice and put me in contact with people whom worked in my career area of interest. This advice actually helped me get to where I am in my career today, and I am very grateful.
How would you rate the facilities that were available to you throughout your degree? How did this enhance your experience?
I feel that we were provided with everything we needed to make the most of the course.
Did you undertake placement or study abroad year? We would love to hear about it.
I worked in clinical research at a medical device development company called DePuy Synthes, part of the Johnson & Johnson group of companies. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to work here and feel that my experience here really boosted my future career opportunities.
What have you been doing since finishing your studies?
Since I completed my studies I moved to London and completed a MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I am currently working as an analyst for the Pharmaceutical industry and specialize in providing intelligence on drug development for central nervous system, ophthalmology, autoimmune and inflammation therapeutic areas. I am aiming to progress into pharmaceutical and healthcare consultancy.
What company are you working for, what is your role and what does it involve?
I work for Informa Pharma Intelligence as a Drug Analyst. I work with pharmaceutical companies to help them use our data on drug development in order to plan their own future development projects. I also work on small consultancy projects and have written my own blogs about drug development. I recently published a blog on emerging therapies for Parkinson's disease. I am currently working on a white paper about drugs being developed to target the microbiome for the treatment of a range of diseases in diverse therapeutic areas.
What experiences at Leeds do you think have particularly helped with your career/will help with your future career?
I feel that having a degree from the University of Leeds has boosted my employment opportunities as it is recognised and respected as being a top university in the UK.
Looking back, why did you choose to study your particular course and why did you choose the University of Leeds?
I chose Leeds due to it's global reputation and the facilities available on campus. I chose my course due to the interesting and diverse topics covered and the flexibility to choose modules that interested me most.
Have you any advice you would offer to current and prospective students?
Enjoy your time at Leeds while you can, time flies too quickly! I would love to go back and do it all again.