Siobhan Lister
University of Newcastle, UK

https://doi.org/10.36866/pn.98.38

I am a third year undergraduate Biomedical Sciences student at Newcastle University, and decided to seek a research placement last summer. I thoroughly enjoyed my second year lectures on Cystic Fibrosis which were given by Dr Mike Gray, and realising that this life-limiting disease affects people of my age and younger, decided to approach him to see if he had a placement to offer. He agreed to supervise me, along with Dr Chris Ward and Dr Malcolm Brodlie. The Physiological Society was my main funder for this project and I received technical support from Dr Burns Verdon.

My project involved looking into the link between Gastro-oesophageal Reflux (GER from US spelling) and Cystic Fibrosis (CF) airways disease. CF patients are 6-8 times more likely to suffer from GER because of several mechanisms. A CF patient who suffers from GER will more likely require a bilateral lung transplant, but only 50-60% of patients survive 5 years post the transplant. Understanding the link between CF and GER may help prevent the need for a bilateral lung transplant and hence increase patient survival time.

To do this I studied the effects of some noxious ‘reflux’ agents (such as bile acids, pepsin and acid pH) on the properties of human airway epithelial cells expressing either normal CFTR or mutant CFTR, bearing the most common CF-causing mutation, F508del (CF). I then measured the effects of these reflux agents on epithelial barrier function, as well as intracellular Ca²⁺ and pH, two important intracellular parameters. Overall, my research showed the CF cells were more easily damaged by bile acids than normal  cells, and the CF cells also showed different intracellular Ca²⁺ and pH responses to several of the reflux agents. As my placement only lasted 8 weeks, more research is required to fully understand the link between CF airways disease and GER, but my preliminary findings suggest further work in this area would be worthwhile.

I also got the opportunity to take part in the Research Scholarships and Expeditions Poster Presentation at my university in November. With guidance from my supervisors, I produced a poster explaining my project and research findings. I presented my poster to many different people, including several ‘judges’, which was a really enjoyable experience. One judge commented ‘I have been told to come to look at your poster as it is an example of what a poster should be’, which greatly pleased me! After the poster presentation, there were 5 talks by fellow presenters and then it was time for the announcement of the winners. Out of the 112 posters to choose from, 9 commendations were read out in alphabetical order. I had hoped that my name would be read out but after it wasn’t I told myself that I wasn’t going to win anything. It was then that they announced the overall winner, and my name was read out. I couldn’t believe they had just said my name. It wasn’t until I heard a round of applause and the people next to me stood up so that I could go and receive my certificate that I realised I was the winner. I couldn’t stop smiling, I was so happy, and so proud.

Undertaking this placement has confirmed that research is the career path I want to follow. I am currently applying for PhD studentships and I believe winning this competition can only stand me in good stead. I cannot thank my supervisors and The Physiological Society enough for giving me the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in research laboratory techniques.