Imperial College London

The University of Edinburgh

Mill Hill County High School

Master's student at Imperial College London (Translational Neuroscience MSc)

London, Greater London, United Kingdom

As an elected class representative, it is my duty to pass on any concerns which my peers on my course (Translational Neuroscience MSc) have to my course tutors and senior members of staff at board meetings. I thoroughly enjoy being able to help my peers through any times of doubt or struggle. Taking on this role will allow me to develop my responsibility and time-management skills, in addition to my ability to prioritise concerns in order to ensure that most pressing issues are dealt with efficiently.

Class Representative

Royal College of General Practitioners

Virtual Medical Placement

This year, Imperial College Business School selected Code to Care, and Everything in Between, as its annual student-led conference. Code to Care aims to engage, educate and inspire students interested in healthtech, from early-stage development to delivery of patient-centred care, through expert panel discussions, keynote presentations and a week-long hackathon. As part of this event, I formed a team of 5 - Ambulo - where we worked on a pitch for an app which aimed to tackle Dementia. Ambulo is a machine-learning based diagnostic-support tool that can predict the risk of developing dementia by monitoring and analysing changing walking characteristics that is observed in cognitive decline. We ranked 5th place out of a total of 30+ groups and I was awarded the 'Social Butterfly' prize.

Imperial College Business School

Finalist in the codetocare hackathon

At this event, my team Ambulo gave a 60 second pitch for an app which uses gait to predict one's risk of Dementia, as well as monitoring their progression of the disease and identifying the subtype of the disease. This app would be used by clinicians to assess their patients. For more information, see our original pitch  below!

Imperial Enterprise Lab

Winning pitch of the night at 'Pitch 'n' Mix'

This course provided a 'virtual' work experience for those looking to apply to medical school. I was introduced to the NHS before exploring the roles and skill sets of six different medical specialists. Along the way, I considered some of the challenges and wider issues doctors face. This virtual experience tool was designed to provide some of the most important points one might have learnt in real-world work experience about being a doctor in the NHS. This course also gave me the opportunity to become familiar with reflecting on my experiences in order to make them as valuable to me as possible.

Brighton and Sussex Medical School

Supervised by Professor Matt Nolan, I have studied visual Path Integration (PI) in humans. PI is where one continuously estimates their position with respect to a reference point, using self-motion cues. One source of self-motion cues is optic flow, the pattern of motion on the retina of a moving observer. PI could either make use of optic flow cues, creating an internal representation of space (travelled distance) or could involve using a counting strategy, creating an internal representation of time (travel duration). Thus, although PI has both linear and angular components, this study will focus on the linear component. Therefore, if subjects estimate distances by integrating optic flow signals, then changing the trial-to-trial gain variability might not affect travelled distance estimation. Given that estimation of travelled distance becomes increasingly worse as the target distance increases, this study aims to investigate whether changing the trial-to-trial variability in gain from optic flow during human PI would affect the ability to estimate the distance travelled to a target. This study investigated whether a higher trial-to-trial variability in gain affected PI. Subjects had to a navigate using a joystick to a pre-seen target location along a virtual corridor using solely optic flow. A significantly greater error in stop location was found only for the greatest trial-to-trial gain variability (SD = 2), supporting an internal representation of travel duration, although without a significant interaction with target distance. Nonetheless, target distance had a significant effect on stop location error, with greater target undershoot as target distance increased, replicating findings in mice. Such VR paradigms have the potential to become a screening tool for early signs of Dementia, decades before widely-used ‘gold-standard’ episodic memory tests.

Dissertation Thesis

I organised my own internship supervised by Dr. Leonhard Schilbach. I contributed to a two-person psychophysiology project involving behavioural experiments for studying interpersonal processes during real-time social interaction. Owing to conceptual and methodological constraints, neuropsychiatric research has focused on maladaptive mechanisms in the individual. Therefore, I studied real-time interactions between subjects using optical micro-cameras while using biological motion sensors and infrared eye-trackers to obtain high-resolution empricial data to give multiple readouts of behaviour, including gaze position and facial expression. I completed tasks including recruiting participants, running eye tracking experiments and data analysis with use of Matlab, Face Reader and Movie Maker programs. I focused on dialectical misattunement hypothesis, where autism and broadly psychopathology is a dynamic interpersonal mismatch, rather than disordered function of a single brain. Accordingly, two-person psychophysiology measures and analyses the multiscale dynamics of social interaction. It is the mismatch of autistic traits between individuals, and not traits per se, that predict core aspects of interpersonal attunement in real-life social relations. This work breaks free from dichotomies including healthy subject vs patient, through experimental, methodological, theoretical and empirical means. This approach, concerning social interaction rather than the individual, encourages a rethink in various fields of research ranging from psychiatry to ethics, advocating Autism as a difference rather than a disorder. This holds implications in encouraging social groups where Autists can collaborate with those they're better socially ‘attuned’ to, through nature of a better aligned style of social interaction, leading to easier interaction with those in the outside world. Thus, I advocate Autism as a difference shaped by the way one interacts socially rather than a disorder.

Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry

Summer Internship

Under the supervision of Professor Don Mahad, I used ImageJ to work out G-ratios in order to assess the effect of defects in the cox10 gene (mitochondrial complex 4 gene) in oligodendrocyte cells. I carried out various procedures including PCR, immunostaining, fluorescent microscopy, gel electrophoresis, excel for collating data and carrying out open field studies. As part of this internship, I also went into the clinic to watch patient consultations with the aim of understanding of how my laboratory research translated into clinical practice. I also received the Edinburgh Award for this internship. This award is given to students recognized by the university as having actively worked to maximize their impact on those around them and who have excelled throughout summer work <a href="http://experience.https://www.annerowlingclinic.org/https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-don-mahad">experience.https://www.annerowlingclinic.org/https://www.ed.ac.uk/profile/dr-don-mahad</a>

Edinburgh BioQuarter

The Edinburgh University Journals Society is a society which aims to provide students with support when writing journal articles with the aim of publishing them in ‘The Edinburgh Scientist’ – a student-run scientific journal. This can be for students who have either completed a work experience project in a lab or for students preparing for their honours project. As the Vice President of this society, I arranged for guest speakers to come in, organised meetings and ensured the society ran <a href="http://smoothly.https://the-edinburgh-scientist.com/">smoothly.https://the-edinburgh-scientist.com/</a>

Edinburgh University Science Journals Society

Vice President

I was the orchestral manager of the Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra and Studio Opera. Liaison with conductors and players within the orchestra, emailing all members on a weekly basis, reporting any absences to the conductor and finding players when <a href="http://needed.http://www.edinburghstudioopera.org/">needed.http://www.edinburghstudioopera.org/</a>

Edinburgh Studio Opera and Chamber Orc

Orchestral Manager

I was a cellist in the London International Orchestra, composed of dedicated musicians of all ages, nationalities, denominations and occupations, including doctors, students, lawyers, dentists, scientists, youth prizewinners, professionals and ex-professionals. They are united in their love of music and furtherance of charity. The Orchestra's aim is to improve, promote, develop and maintain public education in and appreciation of the art and science of music by presenting free concerts to charitable and educational bodies and to provide experience for orchestral players and soloists.

London International Orchestra

Member

The Global Kitchen Society is comprised of an international group of students who cook together to prepare cuisine from all around the <a href="http://world.https://globalkitcheneu.wordpress.com/">world.https://globalkitcheneu.wordpress.com/</a>

Edinburgh University Global Kitchen Society

Founding member

As a Programme Representative, I listened to the views of my peers on course lectures, assessments, timetabling, being the first port of call if any student has any issues regarding any courses. I then passed this information onto course organisers and other teaching staff at Student Staff Liaison Committee meetings. Taking on this role allowed me to take responsibility, working in close association with teaching staff to create the best possible learning environment. I was a Programme Representative in my first year for the courses Biological Chemistry 1A, Biomedical Sciences, Molecules, Genes and Cells, Medical Biology and Biological Chemistry 1B, in my second year for the course The Dynamic cell 2, Biomedical Sciences 2, Cells to Organisms 2 course, Microorganisms Infections and Immunity, Genes and Gene Action 2 and in my third year for the Biomedical Sciences 3 and Applied Pharmacology 3 courses. I am also a Programme Representative for the Neuroscience Honours programme (Years 3 and 4).

Student Representative

I was a cellist in the Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra (EUCO). EUCO has established itself as one of Scotland's leading amateur orchestras.https://www.eusa.ed.ac.uk/activities/societies/society/euco/

Edinburgh University Chamber Orchestra

I was a cellist in the Edinburgh University Music Society (EUMS) symphony orchestra. EUMS is widely regarded as one of Scotland’s leading student music organisations, not only for its standard of performance but also its involvement within the wider community through education projects and fundraising concerts. <a href="https://eums.org.uk/">https://eums.org.uk/</a>

Edinburgh University Music Society

Working at Waitrose, I took on the role of a cashier. I also helped customers find particular items in the store when they were in need of assistance.

Waitrose & Partners

Store Assistant

Under the supervision of Dr Findlay, I studied the anatomy of lipids in the cell membrane. I worked on the extraction of the prokaryotic membrane Protein 'MbsA' - an Escherichia coli ATPase. I carried out procedures such as ultracentrifugation and electrophoresis. I also manipulated data using Excel to generate graphs for data analysis.https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/heather.findlay.html

King's College London

Working for an internationally recognised, leading provider of Dangerous Goods Training and Consultancy Services, I filled and folded envelopes and operated an electric stamp machine. I made tea and coffee for colleagues each <a href="http://day.https://www.petereast.com/">day.https://www.petereast.com/</a>

Peter East Associates Ltd

Office Assistant

Working at Finchley Kitchen has allowed me to develop my communicative skills through interacting with members of the public. I take orders from customers promptly and meet strict deadlines. I work as part of a team to prepare various dishes in addition to being a kitchen porter and a delivery operator.http://www.finchleykitchen.co.uk/

Finchley Kitchen

Kitchen Porter

I scanned in confidential patient information, such as letters to patients regarding appointment times and outcomes of diagnosis. I paid very careful attention to the Data Protection Act because of the sensitive information in a G.P surgery. I also printed patient notes, stamped envelopes and accurately recorded patient details on an electronic database using Microsoft Excel. I took part in 1:1 meetings with various Doctors to discuss their roles and to understand the roles of the <a href="http://staff.https://www.islingtoncentralmedicalcentre.org/">staff.https://www.islingtoncentralmedicalcentre.org/</a>

Islington Central Medical Centre

Work Placement

As an in-class support mentor, I helped a year 7 class of musicians develop their skills when working alone and in groups by giving them feedback on their performances. This allowed me to interact with younger students and ensure that these students reached their potential. Being a senior prefect allowed me to take responsibility and act as a role model for other students.

Senior Prefect and in-class support mentor

As a member of the school council, I represented my form group and put forward the opinions of those in my form to the central committee. Being a member of the school council allowed me to find solutions to problems when working as part of a team. Being a member of the School Media Team also allowed me to strengthen these skills.

School Council and Student Appointment Board

I was the leader of the Cello section in Mill Hill County High School Symphony Orchestra. I also was a member of the Chamber Orchestra through audition and Vocalis. I was a Tuba player in the School Concert Band where I took part in a joint concert with the Royal Air Force Band and in a concert with the Royal Philarmonic Orchestra.

Musician

I was a member of the school S.T.E.M club – taking part in a Middlesex University Schools Science Competition.http://www.mhchs.org.uk/

STEM club member

With the Finchley Children’s Music Group (FCMG), a youth choir based in North London for children aged 4-18, I performed at: The Cadogan Hall, The Royal Festival Hall, The Queen Elizabeth’ Hall, St. Martin-in- the-Fields, St, Johns Smiths Square, The Globe Theatre (in the production of Henry VII) and the Roundhouse. I was invited to sing with the BBC singers in a Boy’s Vocal Workshop. I was also invited to sing with Michael Jackson. I also sung in a TV advert for ‘Lovefilm’, a ‘Cartier’ TV advert and sang as part of small chorus as a backing vocalist for Sarah Brightman’s Christmas album – ‘Winter Symphony’.https://www.fcmg.org.uk/

Emre Yavuz

Emre Yavuz