I completed a four year Integrated Masters course in Neuroscience at The University of Manchester, UK in 2018. I spent the final year of my degree completing a research project within the Brain Inflammation Group focussing on ischaemic stroke. It was during this time that I realised I wanted to continue to work in the area of cardiovascular and ischaemic diseases. This is also when my interest in imaging and microscopy began to develop. The TAPAS EJD-ITN was of particular interest to me as it combines working in some of the best platelet biology labs with living and working abroad.
During the course of my PhD I will spend the first year and a half at The University of Würzburg in the lab of Dr David Stegner and the second year and a half at The University of Birmingham in the lab of Prof. Steve Watson. I will also undertake a two-month secondment in my second year in the lab of Prof. Johan Heemskirk at The University of Maastricht, Netherlands. My project will focus on the role of the platelet receptors GPVI and CLEC-2 in the stability and degradation of arterial thrombi. This will involve using several models of arterial thrombosis as well as advanced imaging modalities.