PhD in Pathology

My choice to study in the Dept of Pathology was a practical one: my PI is one of the only few labs in the UK that studies my virus of interest. Since coming here, I’ve had a fantastic time working in the Division of Virology. Everyone in the division works in one corridor and we share a lot of communal stocks and spaces, so I get to meet people from a variety of backgrounds and walks of life outside of my core lab group. We come together to each lunch in the tearoom every day, which creates a nice community of students, post-docs, and PIs. My highlights of being a PhD student are the informal social events that are held to celebrate one another’s achievements in the division as well as the Virology seminars when speakers outside the Cambridge ecosystem are invited to share their research. From attending these seminars and the lunch afterwards, I’ve gotten a breadth of knowledge of how other lab groups study viruses and their development of clinical applications. The lunches offer a great space to network with researchers and hear about their own paths to academia. I’ve also really enjoyed the evening student research updates over pizza and drinks as an informal way to get feedback on our research and presentations skills which I hope we can do more of this year.

Second-year PhD student, (Mar. 11, 2026)