Shakiba Deimi

Why did you choose to study at the University of Birmingham?

Birmingham stood out to me because of its strong reputation for cardiovascular research and the opportunity to undertake a research project in the field through the MRes Biomedical Research programme. I knew that if I wanted to become a researcher, I needed a course built around doing research rather than just learning about it. Being able to join a cardiovascular research group and gain hands-on experience made Birmingham the right place to take that first step.

What made you choose your course, and what interested you most about the subject?

My interest in cardiovascular science started when I was about nine years old. As a kid, I was given books about the human body, and the heart was the part that stayed with me. How something so small keeps an entire body alive, and how much can still go wrong with it that science hasn't fully figured out, completely fascinated me. That curiosity never really went away, and looking back, those books were probably the reason I ended up choosing this career path.

What drew me specifically to this course was the chance to finally move from reading about these questions to investigating them. The course is based within the department of Cardiovascular Sciences, one of the university's Research Centres of Excellence, and covers exactly the areas that first pulled me in as a child, from the mechanisms of heart failure to the vascular processes that underlie cardiovascular disease. I liked that the first term builds a solid grounding in cardiovascular biology and research techniques before moving into a full research placement within an active lab group, because it meant I was contributing to real, ongoing work rather than just learning theory.

What do you enjoy most about your course?

What I've enjoyed most is getting to work on questions that don't already have an answer. My project explored the crosstalk between platelets and immune cells, an area that's still poorly understood but could have an important role in disease. I also loved the research process itself, planning experiments, troubleshooting when things didn't work, and the moment the results finally come in and you get to figure out what they're telling you. For me, it's the closest thing to solving a puzzle that no one else has solved yet. I've always enjoyed understanding how things work, and research lets me spend every day asking questions that nobody has answered before.

How would you describe the teaching, learning environment, and support from your lecturers?

The support throughout the course has been outstanding. The lecturers were approachable and always willing to help, and they created an environment where asking questions was always encouraged. My supervisor, in particular, had a huge impact on my experience. She challenged me to think independently, supported me through every stage of my project, and gave me the confidence to tackle things I probably wouldn't have believed I was capable of at the start of the course. Looking back, that's a big part of why I decided to stay at Birmingham and continue with a PhD.

How has your course helped you develop the knowledge and skills you'll need for your future career?

The MRes gave me the practical research skills I was looking for, but more importantly it confirmed that this is what I want to do. It taught me how to think like a researcher, approach problems critically, and work through the setbacks that are part of scientific research. I'm now continuing with a PhD, and I hope to build a career in cardiovascular research where I can contribute to discoveries that improve our understanding of disease and, ultimately, improve patient care. Knowing that the work happening in the lab today could eventually improve someone's life years from now is what keeps me motivated. That's what makes all the failed experiments, troubleshooting, and long days worth it.