London Pain Consortium (360G-Wellcome-083858_Z_07_Z)

The benefits of the extra year of training and study at the beginning of the Wellcome 4 year PhD are mainly self explanatory. I feel that any lengthy or challenging project benefits from a greater amount of preparation, diverse experience and familiarity with the relevant material. Especially in a field as multifaceted as neuroscience, multidisciplinary approaches are essential for those wishing to fully tackle and dissect a problem. I also appreciate the possibility of greater control in the choice of my eventual PhD, given the ability of the student to select which of their first year lab rotations to prioritise in their remaining three years. The prospect of further study in neuroscience seemed tenuous at best until my third undergraduate year. That year, I worked at MSD's (now sadly defunct) Terlings Park Neuroscience Research Centre on a one year Industrial Placement. I relished the chance to do research and, to some extent, direct my own project, and greatly enjoyed the many different varieties of lab experience I accumulated during the year. It was also the year that my neuroscience knowledge was finally sufficient for me to appreciate and assimilate papers from most areas of the field. The fortunate coincidence of having free access to most journals in print via the company library, meant that my knowledge and interest in the field took a giant leap forward. The close-knit lab group I worked with, many of whom remain close friends, impressed upon me the social and interdependent nature of lab research. The very positive experience of my time in industry has made me eager to pursue a future career in neuroscience.