This week, I attended my first residential as a Laidlaw Scholar at Weetwood Hall. Across two days, I gained meaningful insight into the qualities that underpin effective and ethical leadership, including project management, emotional literacy, and the responsible use of AI.
I also had the opportunity to hear from previous Laidlaw cohorts about their experiences throughout the program. Their advice provided a helpful perspective on the journey ahead, and it was fantastic to spend time bonding with my fellow scholars in the 2026 cohort. I'm excited to celebrate their successes over the coming years!
Alongside the residential, I've been using this time prepare for my summer research project and set myself up for success in the lab. As a leading center for healthcare research and innovation, the Leeds Institute of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Medicine (LICAMM) provides an exciting environment to begin my research journey.
This summer, I will investigate how insulin-resistant conditions alter protein expression in Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs). Using techniques such as SDS-PAGE electrophoresis and Western blotting, we aim to identify molecular changes associated with the early stages of Type 2 Diabetes.
However, understanding disease is about more than simply measuring whether proteins increase or decrease in abundance. Proteins interact with one another, move throughout cells and tissues, and form complex networks that ultimately drive health and disease. To fully understand these processes, researchers require advanced tools that can reveal where proteins are located, how they interact, and how their organization changes under disease conditions.
This is where the University of Leeds' Cheney Biomedical Accelerator becomes particularly exciting. Opened in October 2025, the facility serves as a hub for molecular research and in-situ biology, bringing together an impressive range of advanced medical imaging technologies that creates new opportunities to investigate biological systems at unprecedented levels of detail. From cancer research to studies of neurodegenerative disease, the Accelerator is helping researchers address important unmet clinical challenges.
Looking ahead, there is significant potential for these technologies to complement research into insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease. Facilities such as super-resolution microscopy, cryo-correlative light and electron microscopy (cryo-CLEM), and focused ion beam milling could help researchers explore protein localization, spatial organization, and interactions in far greater detail than traditional expression studies alone.
With Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease continuing to affect millions of people worldwide, improving our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive these conditions remains an important challenge that demands our attention. As I prepare to begin my project, I'm excited to contribute to research that may ultimately help improve diagnosis, treatment, and patient outcomes!