Lourdes Acosta Jimenez

Department of Biology & Biochemistry

University of Bath

I came to Bath from the University of Colima in Mexico where I studied Medicine. In my final year at Colima I chose to do research in Molecular Immunology and it was this that changed the course of my studies and was fundamental to my decision to pursue research rather than go into Clinical Practice - the more conventional next step for a student of Medicine.
So how did I end up at Bath? I went to an education fair at Colima, and picked up every brochure and leaflet that looked remotely relevant. Later, I laid everything out on the biggest table I could find and started going through the information more systematically, looking for an institution specialising in my particular areas of interest. Through this process of elimination, I eventually singled out Professor Laurence Hurst at Bath. I found that an added advantage of the programme Bath offered was that I would be able to study a Masters programme initially, on what is called a 1+3 basis, which would give me the background and new skills I needed to move into full-time research. I applied, and was offered a place.
I then launched myself into arranging the practical aspects of starting postgraduate study and moving to a new country. Funding was of course the first hurdle to overcome, however this has proved less difficult for me than I anticipated. For my first year I obtained some funding from the University of Colima, and my parents also helped out. Recently however I was thrilled to get an Overseas Research Student award which will pay my fees and living expenses for the next 3 years.
How has it been since I arrived from Mexico in October 2006? Well, at first, of course, I struggled with the language. It was a shock – I had been learning English for years and thought I’d manage easily, yet I understood very little to begin with. I decided to throw myself in and listen and speak as much as I possibly could, and it has got easier. As well as getting to grips with the language, gaining new knowledge and experience in areas I hadn’t touched upon before, for example bioinformatics, has been challenging. I have had to work hard, and it has been fairly exhausting but the rewards have been absolutely worth it: here I am, studying under the supervision of a leading expert in the field of Evolutionary Genetics and, as a bonus, living in this amazingly beautiful city!