MChem 2016 Your Time at the University In retrospect, I truly think that choosing Edinburgh is the best choice in my life so far and I really appreciate such an experience. I joined Edinburgh through a 2+3 joint educational program between South China University of Technology and University of Edinburgh, which allowed me to attend the first two years in China followed by three years in Edinburgh in pursuit of a masters degree. I can still vividly remember how excited I felt about this brand new journey when I first landed in this beautiful city after a 16-hour flight. The transition was quite smooth thanks to the very diverse and friendly environment in Edinburgh. I had a lot of opportunities to experience the fascinating Scottish culture through the orientation, school events and even daily socials. My favourites are dinner events in general, such as Burns supper and the graduation dinner. I have many fond memories dancing at the Ceilidh with friends and professors after savouring a delicious haggis. In summer 2015, I joined the lab of Dr Stephen Thomas for my thesis research. I had lots of fun times in the Thomas group that still periodically show up in my mind. What I miss the most is the “tea time” at 3pm every day when everybody, including Dr Thomas, would gather in the office to enjoy a cup of tea and chat about literally everything (or play GeoGuessr). In terms of the course work, it was quite challenging admittedly, but it provided me with a firm foundation of knowledge for any of my future purposes. I could not be more thankful for all the professors/lecturers that had taught or mentored me in Edinburgh. I already consider Edinburgh as my second hometown and long for a revisit in the near future. Your Experiences Since Leaving the University After finishing up my education in Edinburgh, I went back to China where I joined Bioduro, a Chinese leading CRO company, as a research scientist responsible for designing novel synthesis methods for pharmaceutical molecules. Then, I switched gears and worked as an investment analyst in Hepalink, one of the largest heparin providers worldwide, to perform due diligence investigation on the research/scientific aspects of preclinical drugs that have potential investment values. While working in industry, I continued to apply for graduate schools during which I gained invaluable support from my mentor and lecturers in Edinburgh. Now, I am pursuing a PhD degree in chemical biology at University of California, San Diego. My current research focuses on expanding the genome editing toolkit. Edinburgh education had granted me skills and knowledge that allowed me to have such diverse career choices. Alumni Wisdom Enjoy your life as much as possible, but make sure to attend the tutorial the next morning! This article was published on 2023-10-16
