Improvise, Adapt, Overcome - Matthew Culbert

Improvise, Adapt, Overcome

Just as I think I’m getting used to balancing the different aspects of an MSc and a PhD the world enters lockdown. Fortunately, the lockdown has provided an opportunity for me to focus on my literature review, which I hope to be able to adapt and publish as a review article. I have also had time to finish the taught modules that form part of the MSc leaving a few more pieces of work left to complete at which point I can fully focus on the research.

With the time not spent in the lab I have also had chance, thanks to my naivety surrounding programming, to start learning Python and French. I now have a new-found admiration for anyone who can code. I’ve also had the joy of finding out how much I rely on other people to do well in a quiz and taking part in the office virtual quiz has resulted in some embarrassingly low scores.

Spending all this time working from home has also cemented my love for working in a lab, for the little scientific discussions we have when we make a coffee and the people who are always willing to help (although they’re still around virtually). I’m buzzing to get back into the labs where I can be looking at my self-assembling peptides through the electron microscope, investigating their cytotoxicity and determining their mechanical and chemical properties all in one week.