Esme (University of York)

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I’m Esme and I’m a third year student at the University of York. 

All cells in the human body are coated in a layer of sugar molecules. These sugars are important indicators of ‘self’ to the immune system so it can identify ‘normal’ cells. However, cancer cells are often covered in these sugar ‘self’ signals, allowing them to hide from the immune system. My work is interested in exploiting this. To do this, I use genetic manipulation to trick cancer cells into coating themselves with the non-human sugar Neu5Gc. This turns cancer’s invisibility cloak into a red flag, allowing them to be targeted by anti-Neu5Gc antibodies and potentially attacked by the immune system.

The thing I enjoy most about my project has been working across both chemistry and biology, learning lots of exciting new skills techniques along the way. This has also been the biggest challenge- the learning curve can be steep at times- but it's very satisfying when it all comes together in the end! The photo shows me presenting my research at a conference. The poster itself is blurred because the work is still in progress and hasn’t been published yet so can’t be shared yet.  

My biggest advice is to remember that a PhD is still a learning experience. Don't put off applying to a project because you think you don't have the right skillset at the moment- if you already knew how to do everything, you'd already have a PhD! It's really helpful to contact potential supervisors to set up an informal chat before applying- you can ask what sort of training they'd be providing, as well as getting a sense of whether their lab would be a good fit for you. Don't be afraid to ask questions!