Walsall-born student Jane Birtwistle is set to embark on a very important step in her research career after winning a prestigious PhD studentship from the charity Leukaemia Research.
Based at the University of Birmingham, the 22-year-old will study an enzyme that regulates blood cell production in the bone marrow, and may play a role in the development of a number of leukaemias.
As part of Dr Chris Bunce’s team, she will also carry out lab tests to see whether drugs and specific dietary conditions are able to target this enzyme.
Jane, who attended Aldridge Foundation School in Aldridge, graduated with a first class honours degree in Forensic and Biomolecular Science from Liverpool John Moores University. And having just completed her Masters in Toxicology she is looking forward to her new challenge.
"Getting the Leukaemia Research Studentship is a great achievement. It is fantastic that I am now part of the Leukaemia Research team of researchers and scientists – it is such an honour," says Jane.
She is one of only six graduates in Britain this year to win a three-year PhD studentship from Leukaemia Research. The studentships were set up in 1991 to mark the retirement of the charity’s first Director, Dr Gordon Piller, who helped the organisation become the largest national charity solely dedicated to research on leukaemia and related blood cancers.
"I have always been interested in studying blood cancers like leukaemia and now I can combine this with my background in toxicology," says Jane.
