Dr Mina Ryten
MRC fellow with a Special Training Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics at the Institute of Neurology, University College London.
Dr Mina Ryten in an MRC fellow studying genetic risk factors for neurodegenerative diseases.
Dr Mina Ryten read medicine at the University of Cambridge and completed the MB/PhD programme at University College London (UCL). “The sheer amount of information and access to it that has followed the Human Genome Project is immense and very exciting – I started my PhD on purinergic signalling pathways in skeletal muscle in 1999 and while I’m very proud of my PhD I wouldn’t approach the project in the same way today. The high throughput technologies available now have opened up a host of opportunities and offer a better approach than previously, when you had to focus on a single signalling system in isolation, a way of working which doesn’t really model disease. Hopefully this change will mean that research becomes more clinically relevant than ever before.
“After qualifying as a doctor, I took up the option of pursuing research whenever possible. Generally just short-term placements, they were enough to give me a taste of the current research but no more. After a six-month Academic Clinical Fellowship in neurology, I took advice on where to apply for funding for a longer fellowship. Given my interests, the MRC Special Training Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics was a perfect fit.
“The application process was long and pretty daunting, including the interview in front of a panel of about 15 experts in computer science and bioinformatics. I got lots of feedback on my application regarding things the panel was concerned about or thought I needed to reconsider or get more support in. At the time it was frustrating to have to fill in more pieces of paper but, looking back, I can see that the criticism I received was genuinely thoughtful advice and helped me to refine my project before I set out.
“After the Fellowship, I will finish clinical training, but I am equally determined to keep up my research so the field can’t move on without me as it did after my PhD. I’m not sure where my future career lies exactly but I’m enjoying being at the crossroads of research, diagnostic technology and clinical practice. It gives me an unusual and fascinating perspective in a field that is all set to take off and have an impact on people’s lives.”
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Published June 2011