Rasa Islam, Cartherics PhD Student

  • Role: PhD Student
Rasa Islam, PhD Student from the Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Research Group at Hudson Institute

Rasa Islam

Degree:

PhD student

Research Centre:

The Ritchie Centre

Area of study:

Cancer immunology

Year of enrolment:

2019

What is your research about and what do you hope to achieve?

My research focuses on how to make adoptive immunotherapy more effective and readily available to cancer patients, particularly as an 'off-the-shelf' treatment module.

What is it like being a student at Hudson Institute?

Hudson Institute is a very collaborative space and provides a lot of learning opportunities for students. This could be workshops and training sessions organised within the facility, presentations from local and global experts, networking events or student-specific events organised by Hudson Institute Student Society (HISS). Students can be involved in a range of programs ranging from mentorship, to fun trivia. There is a strong sense of community and encouragement to thrive for excellence!

What opportunities have you had at Hudson Institute?

Besides the state-of-the-art research facilities and training opportunities to develop myself as a researcher, I have also availed opportunities for personal leadership development. This year I have been elected as the Early Career Research Representative on the HISS committee. As part of my role, I have helped organise the first HISS virtual social event for the year and the upcoming late-PhD to ECR mentoring program. I was also involved in organising the Day of Immunology celebration at Hudson Institute, which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to COVID-19. I look forward to more such personal and professional leadership opportunities.

How will your research help others?

I hope to contribute to transforming cancer patients’ life expectancy and quality, regardless of type or stage of the condition.