Eva Bardol

Please tell us about your research project.
My research project focuses on modeling the blood brain barrier, which is a complex structure that protects the brain from various chemicals and pathogens and is implied in various neurological diseases such as neurodegeneration, inflammation or traumatic injury. To do so, I use a 3D microfluidic model to mimick the properties of the blood brain barrier in vitro as accurately as possible, creating a brain-on-a-chip model. With this model, I will be testing several disruptors of the blood brain barrier such as neurodegeneration or inflammation factors in order to assess their impact on the integrity of the structure and their potential implication in pathogenesis.

Could you please tell us a bit more about your scholarship/exchange programme?
I am part of a partnership between the MFO and the MD-PhD French programme. Indeed, I completed three years of medical school in the Faculty of Medicine Lyon Sud, France (University Claude Bernard Lyon 1) and took several courses of biomedical research and fundamental sciences that allowed me to complete my first year of Master's combined with summer research internships. The MD-PhD French programme allow us to take a gap year from medical school to get a Master's before starting clinical training. In this context, I am honoured to be selected as part of this partnership to complete my Master's internship here in Oxford.

First impressions of Oxford/the University?
Oxford is such a magical city, so calm and hectic at the same time. Visiting all these old librairies and colleges feels unreal. I could never imagine anything more inspiring than crossing paths with students from all around the world who are such experts in their fields. Walking in the footsteps of some of the best researchers ever is so stimulating and makes me want to make the best use of my experience here.