Building bench skills in a rich mix of rugged scenic beauty and historical delights
For Kuba the beginning of last semester was quite different than the previous ones. On the 1st of October 2016, instead of attending the official new academic year inauguration at the Jagiellonian University, Kuba took a flight to Scotland. He flew to Aberdeen to spend 3 months as a trainee in professor Roger G. Pertwee’s laboratory at the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen. Kuba had the chance to take part in a research project that focused on novel CB1 positive allosteric modulators. He mainly worked using the GTPγS assay method but he also managed to get some grasp of the [3H] CP55940 binding assay. Besides valuable bench skills, Kuba also gained experience in cell cultures and pharmacological data analysis. It was very fun and exciting research for him. Above all that, it was a great pleasure to have the chance to work with one of the most recognized scientist in the field of cannabinoid research.
However, this internship wasn’t only about science. Afterhours, Kuba managed to see some of the Scotland’s magical landscape. Kuba recalls that the most impressive thing about Scotland is that you don’t have to look far for beautiful places; some of them are just around the corner.
Leaving to go abroad can give you a hard time sometimes but after all, it’s all a precious experience. Kuba met a lot of interesting people from different cultures and had the chance to work in both professional and inspiring environment as well as managing to get some exciting results regarding pharmacological characterization of CB1 positive allosteric modulators.
Thank you Erasmus+ – European Commission, Jagiellonian University in Cracow and Centrum Innowacyjnego Rozwoju Społeczeństwa (CIRS) for making that all possible! Thanks to professor Pertwee for your hospitality!
