Biochemistry

Asdren
Biochemistry BSc
I chose to study at King's College London because it has a worldwide reputation as a top University and so much to offer to its students. I found the location of the King's Guy's Campus very attractive as they are situated within walking distances to the great London landmarks.

King's offers a great atmosphere as well as a friendly environment with a wide variety of clubs and societies to choose from. The different societies gave me the chance to meet exciting new people as well as helped me improve my CV. Playing for the football team has given me the chance to make new friends and meet senior students who have guided me and offered advice on what to expect in the upcoming years.

The Careers Centre at King's has also helped me choose a career pathway that is suitable to me. I plan to do a Masters in Biochemical Engineering after I graduate from King's.

For me, the highlights of studying at Kings ate visiting London's historical landmarks, meeting new people, as well as experiencing the London nightlife.

Dhara
India
Biochemistry BSc
'The extramural year programme is a key part of the undergraduate degrees in the Department of Biochemistry. The extramural year programme offers a year of paid work in a scientific establishment and is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career in science, giving them the experience of a challenging laboratory/research-based role in major pharmaceutical or government-based laboratories.

The research placement has given me an insight into the practical side of my degree course. The expertise and guidance of my supervisor at the University of Pittsburgh has been significant for my future career prospects. The experience of living abroad has made me more outgoing and has taught me to adapt to new situations. This placement has been so rewarding to me in terms of my social, personal and educational growth. Practical experience holds more value than theoretical knowledge, and this placement has proved that!' *Dhara Mandavia, placed at the University of Pittsburgh.

'We believe it was a great opportunity for both students who undertook real research in top laboratories as well as for the laboratories which benefited from bright talented young investigators. We have been absolutely satisfied with the results; students were able to complete their research plans and co-authored papers published in highly prestigious peer-reviewed journals such as the Journal of Biological Chemistry and the Journal of the American Chemical Society. We welcome further developments of this important program and we will be glad to host more visits of undergraduate students from King's College London's Year in Industry programme. *Valerian Kagan, Professor and Vice Chairman Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Pittsburgh, USA.

Susana
Spain
Biochemistry BSc
'The extramural year programme is a key part of the undergraduate degrees in the Department of Biochemistry. The extramural year programme offers a year of paid work in a scientific establishment and is aimed at students who wish to pursue a career in science, giving them the experience a challenging laboratory/research-based role in major pharmaceutical or government-based laboratories.
You feel like you belong to the team and are doing the same work as your colleagues helping them with experiments and laboratory based part of projects. You get to see protocol and run day-to-day tasks. You also do a project which is really interesting, you can see the results pretty soon and when you come back to university and are in the laboratory you can learn techniques more easily. I think that doing a placement year in industry helps to improve your degree classification and career opportunities on graduation.' *Susanna Alcantara.*
'Susanna Alcantara was an industrial placement student within the Drug Metabolism and Pharmacokinetics (DMPK) department. Her main role was to assist in processing samples from DMPK studies. This is mainly extraction /preparation of samples for metabolite profiling and identification. Susanna worked in a team, learned general laboratory skills, how to analyse data, had access to a variety of instrumentation and techniques, undertook a project and enhanced her scientific knowledge. Susanna will be re-joining us on a fixed term contract, her previous experience (ie her industrial placement year) makes her an ideal candidate!' *Rob Chambers, Senior Scientist, DMPK Department,
GlaxoSmithKline.*

Trusha
Biochemistry BSc
I chose King’s mainly because of the friendly atmosphere I experienced when visiting; I wanted to spend the next three years of my life somewhere I’d really enjoy. Other than Kings’ excellent reputation and high graduate employment rate, I particularly liked the way my course was structured. The common first year really helped me to discover which branches of Life Sciences I was interested in, which has been especially useful in deciding what to specialise in as my degree has progressed.

The amount of support and guidance you receive from Staff here has been amazing, any query you may have there is always someone you can contact who can help. Being on the Student-Staff Liaison committee, it has been nice to see the lecturers and other staff taking note of and putting into action any comments we have on ways to improve our learning experience.

Outside of my studies, the Student Ambassador scheme has been a great way to earn some extra cash whilst helping the King’s community. The practical skills and theoretical knowledge I have gained whilst studying Biochemistry has prepared me well for entering a world of research or further education.

Guy’s Campus is great, the library and computing facilities are outstanding and the Gordon Museum is an excellent place to study (if you can handle being around dead things).

I stayed at the Hampstead Residence last year and I would recommend it to anyone, extremely sociable, in a lovely part of London with Hampstead Heath, the Village and actual supermarkets nearby. The facilities at Hampstead were nice; the recent refurbishment has made them even better. Despite the forty minutes commute it’s worth the journey, especially as the travel card you buy gives you the freedom to travel to and experience loads of different parts of London.

There is always something to do in London, apart from all the various student nights which give you discounts on drinks and entry there are plenty of museums, exhibitions and shows on - there's loads of great suggestions online. There are so many student discounts available, getting things like an NUS extra card really help your money go further.

Attending a university with such a central location has allowed me to really experience the city lifestyle and get to know the streets of London. Also, it has allowed me to build contacts in an area where I will most likely be working in when I graduate.

Yousef
Biochemistry BSc
I chose King’s College London because of its outstanding academic reputation. I’m quite an ambitious person, so what really attracted me to King’s was the knowledge that I would be studying with others who share the same passion and drive that I have. Throughout my degree I have met some of the most intelligent, and in fact nicest, people I could have ever imagined.

Another thing that attracted me to King’s was the location of Guy’s campus. It is situated in the heart of the city and with London Bridge station just opposite, London is just a stone’s throw away.

While studying at King’s it wasn’t hard to notice the large numbers of clubs and societies that you can join; there are so many other ways to get involved at the university. For example I am currently part of the Staff Student Liaison Committee for the Biochemistry BSc and I am also a Student Ambassador. Not only has this improved my CV but it’s also helped me make new friends and given me many memorable experiences.

My plans after my degree would be to continue with postgraduate studies and I can honestly say there is nowhere else I’d rather be than King’s.