Miss Marina Gardasevic

Overview

I am currently a 3rd year MRC-funded Doctoral Researcher in the Lucas Lab in the Faculty of Biology, Medicine & Health. I am interested in the contribution of each ocular photoreceptor to responses to light; including circadian responses and vision. To address this I utilise a variety of in vivo techniques with rodent models and studies involving human participants and the lab's newly-developed five-primary visual display.

In addition to my research I am a Presidential Doctoral Scholar (PDS) and a STEM Ambassador where I participate in and organise public engagement activities with local schoolchildren.

@MarinaGNeuro

Biography

2017 - Present: MRC DTP - The University of Manchester

2016 - MRes Biological Sciences (Distinction) - The University of Manchester

2015 - BSc Biology (First Class Honours) - Imperial College London

My first real taste of lab research was during the summer of my undergratduate degree where I volunteered in Dr Matthew Piper's lab at UCL's Institute of Healthy Ageing. Here I worked with Dr Adam Dobson on a project analysing the sexual dimorphism in midgut remodelling in response to diet in Drosophila. This experience ignited my passion for laboratory research and I knew then that I wanted to develop my lab and research experience.
I proceeded to study for a Masters by Research at the University of Manchester where I was able to work on two research projects: "Capsule Hereterogeneity in Uropathogenic E.coli" supervised by Prof Ian Roberts and "Determining the Impact of Diabetes on Macrophage Subset Population & Polarisation in Wounded Tissue" supervised by Dr Kimberly Mace. This variety gave me an appreciation for the bredth of techniques and experiences one can gain from research and I chose to do a PhD that would support this variety.
I am currently in my 2nd year of my PhD entitiled "Using Light to Promote Sleep & Circadian Rhythms" and am using a variety of techniques to address my research question, including in vivo rodent models, microscopy, in silico analyses and studies involving human participants.

I have also expanded my experience into public engagement alongside my research and am currently a STEM Ambassador. I love what research and science has given me and would like to share this with school children and encourage them to pursue careers in science.