Alumni interview: Nisha Aziz
BSc Biomedical Sciences student, Nisha Aziz, was part of a team of researchers at Queen Mary who successfully demonstrated the use of a novel light emitting technology in identifying anti-drug antibodies that can reduce effectiveness of monoclonal antibody therapies. We caught up her to find out more.
Name: Nisha Aziz
Course: BSc Biomedical Sciences
How were you involved with the research?
I was involved in preparing the reagents and testing out the different methods for the assay.
What skills did you develop during the project outside of your regular undergraduate work?
I gained many skills from undertaking this project including critical thinking which involved identifying problems and investigating why an issue arose.
What impact do you think this research will have?
I think that with rapid improvements in technology, this assay has the potential to be further developed into a test that could be used in point of care testing.
What is the most important thing you have learnt during the project?
This project has taught me that persistence is key in research as we had to trial multiple methods before we ended up with the final functioning assay.
How has this helped you in your career/further study?
I am currently in the process of applying to the NHS STP programme, which requires certain research skills that I am now able to fulfil due to the skills I gained from undertaking the research project.
More information
- Research paper: ‘GloBody Technology: Detecting Anti-Drug Antibody against VH/VL domains‘. Gauri K. Saxena, Ioannis Theocharopoulos, Nisha Thaslima Aziz, Meleri Jones, Sharmilee Gnanapavan, Gavin Giovannoni, Klaus Schmierer, James A. Garnett, David Baker and Angray S. Kang. Sci Rep 10, 1860 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-58041-3.
- Find out more about the BSc Biomedical Sciences at the School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London.
- Find out more about Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London.
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