(English) My Practical Work Experience @ Stem Cell Center

I did my internship in Lund University at the research facility called Stem Cell Center. Lund University is a globally recognized institution for findings in hematopoiesis (blood formation process). Stem Cell Center works with human or mouse stem cells to answer the most puzzling questions in hematopoiesis while developing new research methods and improving the current clinical approach. However, the best laboratories in Stem Cell Center are extremely picky when choosing interns, so it is really difficult to get a position there. But once you are accepted, the scientists that work there are surprisingly friendly and helpful. Also, as a result of high competition, you get to be supervised by the most genius professors as well as have the smartest postgraduate and PhD students as your colleagues. Stem Cell Center is a highly international facility, therefore it was a great environment to meet scientists from all around the globe – it was definitely the place to get acquainted with different cultures and, most importantly, hear about research facilities in other countries.

During my Erasmus+ I was working on my own project and had a mentor to support me throughout the whole process. The laboratory was focusing on finding new ways and technologies that would allow treating leukemia and other blood disorders by using umbilical cord blood as a bone marrow replacement. The aim of my project was to test several newly identified chemical molecules and their ability to enhance umbilical cord blood as a material for transplantations. I had to execute a variety of tasks during my internship, to name a few of them: gathering and processing information of previous researchers, carrying our new methods in laboratory like collecting and preparing cord blood samples for experiments or using equipment like flowcytometer, summarizing research results and presenting my findings in laboratory meetings.

I have to admit though, that the greatest thing about my time in Sweden was the expertise network that I built: absolutely priceless. Nonetheless, the expertise that I have gained during my internship abroad will undoubtedly help me reach my further scientific goal which is a PhD.