I can still vividly remember the first date arriving at the UK having no idea how to survive through these six weeks. Not only was I new to the world of research, the topic about AMR (antimicrobial resistance) but also to this country that is thousands of miles away from my place, Hong Kong. Feeling excited and worried in tandem, I kicked off this intriguing journey by meeting my supervisor (Professor Sudaxshina Murdan) the very next day after landing.

Week 1-2: My project investigates how can scientists engage with the public to explain AMR and the role of vaccination, especially through the utilization of social media platforms. As broad as this theme appears to be, the first thing that my supervisor suggested me to do was actually watching TikTok and YouTube videos which surprised me but indeed, it is indispensable to see how other people were doing currently, so as to  evaluate the effectiveness of different approaches that aid scientists to communicate such a complex idea. As a youngster, watching reels and shorts appears a natural thing to me, this allowed me to breathe a sign of relief.

Lesson 1: No matter how overwhelming one thing appears to be, you can always find a relevant starting point, and I mean always. 

Week 3: Apart from watching sample videos available online, I also underwent literature reveal by reading countless articles about AMR and vaccination. Just when I thought my research journey will only be about these two main components, I accidentally joined a seminar which explained the underlying working principal of an Isothermal Titration Calorimeter. Though this topic was completely irrelevant about my research project, I ended up having a very fruitful discussion with the presenter, Dr. Raul about essential oil which is a topic that I am immensely interested in. The most fascinating part was when I delved deeper into essential oil, I found out that some studies focusing on essential oil-antibiotic combinations have been carried out; they can enhance an antibiotic's efficacy, potentially allowing for a lower dosage or broadening its antibacterial spectrum. This exactly hit the core of my research topic that aims to alleviate usage of antimicrobials.

Lesson 2: Keep an open mind and cast your net wide; it is often within the unexpected that the deepest relevance is found.

Looking ahead: A six-week research journey is long enough to feel like an adventure, but short enough to fly by. Little by little, my anxiety and uncertainty have been dispelled through communications with my supervisor, through more systematic searching about relevant articles and through a higher efficiency of analyzing the study results. For now, standing at the halfway point, I am thrilled to keep the ball rolling and encountering more serendipity.