Previous summer students
Summer Student 2021: Yutong Chen
Yutong will explore state-of-the-art artificial intelligence-based methods to reduce the time taken to acquire magnetic resonance images (MRI).
Summer Student 2021: Rosie Davis
Rosie’s project will develop better human relevant models of bowel cancer to allow scientists to study how drugs penetrate dense cancer tissue without using animals.
Summer Student 2021: Riddhi Sharma
Riddhi will develop a method to study the genetic and environmental causes of Parkinson’s disease in human brain cell lines, to assess whether the cells are entering a diseased state.
Summer Student 2021: Morwenna Oldfield
Morwenna will build a cell-based membrane which will act as a model for the cornea allowing her to find novel ways of delivering drugs without relying on testing in animals.
Summer Student 2021: Izzy Breithaupt
Izzy’s project will create, characterise and adopt an animal free approach towards genotoxicity testing of a variety of different human toxicants, using advanced human lung and liver model systems.
Summer Student 2021: Imogen Carmichael
Imogen will test if an animal-free media can be used to grow and differentiate a cellular model of dementia.
Summer Student 2021: Fiona Nhi Dang
Fiona will investigate the physical and biological changes that occur within the body as a result of heart attack and severe haemorrhage.
Summer Student 2021: Emily-Rose Martin
Emily-Rose will work to establish a new method of growing neuron-like cells to study Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) which is one of the most common neurodevelopmental disorders.
Summer Student 2021: Dania Alkhatib
Dania will use artificial intelligence (AI) approaches to allow her to address an important unmet clinical need: can we predict tumour recurrence for head and neck cancer.
Summer Student 2021: Amir Fard
Amir will use 3D human organoid models of normal colon tissue and of colon cancer to help to identify new treatment strategies.
Summer Student 2021: Ali Mehmood
Ali’s project seeks to use a hybrid of computer learning and animal free laboratory techniques to develop a prognostic marker for head and neck cancer.
Summer Student 2019: Zachary McNeill
Zachary will use non-invasive methods on human participants to improve the function of prosthetic hands and help replace invasive experiments on cats, dogs and rats.
Summer Student 2019: Samantha Lindsay
Samantha will develop a human skin-wound and infection model to help replace experiments on pigs, mice and rats in skin disease research.
Summer Student 2019: Nilab Haydare
Nilab will develop an animal-free model of the human eye to research inflammation and infection of the eye and help replace experiments on rabbits.
Summer Student 2019: Keerthana Sasitharan
Keerthana will use artificial intelligence and human tumour samples to predict if oral cancer will spread, and to help replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2019: Kathryn Bailey
Kathryn will produce synthetic compounds to monitor microbial infections and Alzheimer’s disease and help replace experiments on millions of animals worldwide – including hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, mice and rats.
Summer Student 2019: Katherine Bexley
Katherine will use human skin to investigate if she can speed up and improve the repair of human skin wounds and help replace experiments on mice and pigs in skin research.
Summer Student 2019: Josan Gandawijaya
Josan will edit human cells to understand the role of genes in autism and 3p deletion syndrome to help replace experiments on mice and rats.
Summer Student 2019: James Philpott
James will develop a computational model to predict the psychoactivity of molecules affecting the central nervous system and help replace experiments on mice, rats, cats and monkeys.
Summer Student 2019: Intisar Salah
Intisar will develop a non-invasive tool for detecting, monitoring and treating cancer, to help replace experiments on mice and other animals worldwide used to produce antibodies.
Summer Student 2019: Faris Osman
Faris will develop a novel detection method to replace antibodies in the diagnostic testing of HIV and help replace experiments on millions of animals worldwide – including hamsters, guinea pigs, rabbits, goats, sheep, horses, mice and rats.
Summer Student 2019: Dylan McClurg
Dylan will develop an animal-free model to investigate how breast cancer can spread throughout the body and help to replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2019: Deyna Jenkins
Deyna will develop an animal free 3D cell model of human muscle contraction to help replace experiments on mice and rats in exercise related diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, obesity and heart disease.
Summer Student 2019: Abigail Wright
Abigail will develop and validate an all-human model of Parkinson’s disease to replace experiments on mice, rats, dogs and monkeys.
Summer Student 2018: Zhuo Song
Supervised by Dr Yubing Shi at Northampton University, Zhuo Song used computer modelling to help replace sheep and pig experiments in the clinical study of artificial hearts.
Summer Student 2018: Ze Lum
Supervised by Dr Christopher Rowlands at Imperial College London, Ze Lum built a test system that mimics a real human eye, to automatically take full diagnostic maps of the retina, to help replace experiments on cats and monkeys.
Summer Student 2018: Thomas Clark
Supervised by Dr Zaynah Maherally at the University of Portsmouth, Thomas Clark unlocked the role of pericytes (cells that line blood vessels) in an all-human blood-brain barrier model, to help replace rats and mice in brain tumour research.
Summer Student 2018: Sheree Smith
Supervised by Dr Nathaniel Milton at Leeds Beckett University, Sheree Smith researched the replacement of antibodies with non-animal synthetics (nucleotide aptamers) for use in Alzheimer’s disease and cancer research, to help replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2018: Rachel Sharp
Supervised by Dr Nick Peake at Sheffield Hallam University, Rachel Sharp built a physiologically relevant model of fat development during inflammatory bowel disease, to replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2018: Olivia Knowles
Supervised by Dr Adrian Biddle at Queen Mary University London, Olivia Knowles identified a novel cancer stem cell sub-population in melanoma (skin cancer) samples using a new protocol, to help replace the use of mice.
Summer Student 2018: Niamh Haslett
Supervised by Michelle Botha at the University of Hertfordshire, Niamh Haslett developed computer models to predict psychoactivity in new drugs rather than testing in mice.
Summer Student 2018: Jowi Guillen
Supervised by Dr Helen Colley at the University of Sheffield, Jowi Guillen developed tissue-engineered models to study the development of oral cancer, to help replace experiments on mice and hamsters.
Summer Student 2018: Jodie Evans
Supervised by Dr Paul Roach at Loughborough University, Jodie Evans developed microfluidic neuronal cell circuits from computer-aided design through to 3D printing to help replace tests on mice and monkeys.
Summer Student 2018: Georgia Ellis
Supervised by Dr Susan Scholes at Newcastle University, Georgia Ellis developed a pea-protein lubricant to help replace foetal calf serum for the wear testing of artificial joints.
Summer Student 2018: Foram Dave
Supervised by Dr Sylwia Ammoun at Plymouth University, Foram Dave used a human cell culture model to study cells from brain tumour patients and test drugs, allowing a faster ‘bench to bedside’ transition into clinical trials without animal tests.
Summer Student 2018: Emma Ewen
Supervised by Professor Nikolai Zhelev at Abertay University, Emma Ewen reviewed hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (thickening of the heart muscle) research to show that human organoid cultures are more relevant than experiments on beagles.
Summer Student 2018: Elisa Ali
Supervised by Dr Ewelina Hoffman at the University of Hertfordshire, Elisa Ali developed a human in vitro model to help replace rats and mice in pulmonary (lung) fibrosis research.
Summer Student 2018: Eamon Faulkner
Supervised by Dr Leonid Nikitenko at Hull University, Eamon Faulkner developed fully humanised and animal free models to study the role of blood vessel cells in chronic diseases.
Summer Student 2018: Domonkos Perenyi
Supervised by Dr Matthew Kitching at Durham University, Domonkos Perenyi used artificial cell mimics to replace the use of egg yolk in understanding how cell membranes move.
Summer Student 2017: Taleen Shakouri
Taleen Shakouri, supervised by Dr Stewart Kirton and Dr Michelle Botha at the University of Hertfordshire, developed a toxicology computer model, to replace experiments on monkeys, dogs and mice.
Summer Student 2017: Stephanie Lunt
Stephanie Lunt, supervised by Dr Adrian Biddle at the Animal Replacement Centre Queen Mary University of London, used patient cancer samples to identify biomarkers in skin cancer to help replace the use of mice.
Summer Student 2017: Shreya Asher
Shreya Asher will be working at Queen Mary University of London on a skin cell culture model to better understand skin cancer without having to conduct any experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2017: Sergi Fayos Villalta
Supervised by Dr Colin Boyle at Imperial College London, Sergi Fayos Villalta undertook a computational modelling project looking at the development of pressure ulcers and soft tissue damage to replace the use of mice and rats.
Summer Student 2017: Rachel Henderson
Rachel Henderson, supervised by Dr Helen Wheadon at the University of Glasgow, used human-relevant research to study leukaemia without using animals.
Summer Student 2017: Oana Voloaca
Oana Voloaca, supervised by Dr Melissa Lacey at Sheffield Hallam University, used a novel gut tissue model to investigate the influence of bacteria in gastrointestinal diseases (such as crohn’s disease), to replace experiments on rats.
Summer Student 2017: Lauren Richardson
Lauren Richardson, supervised by Dr Luigi De Girolamo at Nottingham Trent University, studied the proteins related to Parkinson’s disease, to replacing experiments on primates, rats and mice.
Summer Student 2017: Evie Gruszyk
Evie Gruszyk, supervised by Dr Nicholas Peake at Sheffield Hallam University, developed a cell culture model to understand colorectal cancer without experimenting on mice.
Summer Student 2017: Edward Nendick
Edward Nendick, supervised by Dr Mandy Johnstone at the University of Edinburgh, used one of the latest cutting-edge gene editing technologies, CRISPR-Cas9, to further our understanding of schizophrenia and replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2017: Diliany Oliveira
Diliany Oliveira, supervised by Dr Mridula Chopra at the University of Portsmouth, developed a non-animal based screening tool to detect cancer biomarkers and replace the use of animals in prostate cancer research.
Summer Student 2017: Bronte Munro
Bronte Munro, supervised by Dr Jelena Gavrilovic at the University of East Anglia, investigated the causes of atopic dermatitis and psoriasis using cell culture, to replace experiments on mice.
Summer Student 2017: Alexander Lanz
Alexander Lanz, at the University of Sheffield, developed a cell culture model of osteoarthritis, to replace current experiments on guinea pigs, rats and rabbits.
Summer Student 2016: Nefisa Marium
Summer Student Nefisa Marium undertook a project to monitor vitamin D metabolism using human cell culture, rather than using mice. Her work will enable researchers worldwide to gain greater understanding of how vitamin D is truly handled in human health and disease.
Summer Student 2014: Baransel Kamaz
Baransel Kamaz undertook a Summer Studentship in 2014 to directly study human liver cancer using human-derived cells, under the supervision of Dr. Meritxell Huch at the University of Cambridge. They hope that the results will replace experiments on rats and mice.
Page last modified on June 13, 2019 12:56 pm
