I'm excited to spend my year in industry at GSK contributing to crucial research

What made you want to pursue a placement?

I wanted to pursue a placement to give myself better insight into my future career prospects in first year. However as I became impassioned by the idea of a career as an immuno-oncological researcher, it became more about a chance to pursue my passion in a career setting and gain relevant experience as I hope to one day apply for a PhD. 

What appealed to you about working at GSK?

Several things appealed to me about working for GSK. One, it is an incredible company that has had a huge impact on current drugs in the market. They developed the first treatment for HIV, the world's first malaria vaccine, and are currently working on many exciting new drugs such as manufacturing the STING protein to extend immunological memory. I believed this was a place where I could contribute to a team which would produce ground-breaking research and allow me to help people.

Moreover, GSK’s approach to diversity and inclusivity, supporting employees' mental health and core values of which were very important to me and showed me the type of company GSK was, and solidified GSK as a top choice. 

How was the process of searching for and securing a placement?

Balancing searching for placements with second year commitments and extracurricular activities was something I found particularly difficult, therefore for anyone wanting to pursue a placement I would recommend getting their CV and cover letter together by the end of summer. But also remembering when applying to personalise your CV and cover letter to a particular company. 

I would not worry if you do not have loads of experience as there are several opportunities to gain experience.

How did you feel when you found out you'd got the GSK placement?

Very excited and happy to work for such a prestigious company and in an area I am so passionate about and want to work in in the future (researching the immune system particularly rebalancing this system in states of autoimmunity and inflammation). I am very excited at the prospect of starting this placement next year. 

What are you looking forward to about your placement?

Working in a team, getting to know different kinds of people, contributing to crucial research, experiencing working in a professional and fast paced setting

In general, what have you been enjoying most about your degree?

Learning about the complex errors in the human body and how as humans we refuse to give up and continue to support the health of others. 

Participating in a variety of different tasks such as mini research presentation projects, developing a website and a LinkedIn profile. Laboratory reports also give us the opportunity to research a disease some of us were unaware of and then become somewhat experts on said disease.