Sarah Wide is a fifth-year medical student who has spent the past two years working with the Brain Infection and Inflammation Group in the Department of Clinical Infection, Microbiology and Immunology. Here, she reflects on what she has learned and how the experience has shaped her interest in research.
I first joined the Brain Infection and Inflammation Group in my 3rd year of medical school, not fully knowing what to expect. Since then, the experience has shaped my understanding of research far more than I expected. Being part of a team that brings together clinicians, scientists, and data specialists has shown me how collaborative and creative academic medicine can be.
One of the highlights has been attending the COVID‑CNS meetings. Watching researchers discuss challenges, share ideas, and problem‑solve together gave me a real insight into how dynamic research is behind the scenes. It was inspiring to see how laboratory and clinical perspectives come together to move a project forward.
Throughout my time with the group, I’ve developed a range of new skills. I particularly enjoyed learning qualitative data analysis while reviewing feedback from the Global Brain Clinical Exchange Platform. It was a completely new method for me, one that isn’t commonly used in medical research, and it broadened my understanding of how different types of data can shape teaching and clinical practice.
I also had the chance to update several modules on e‑brain, an online training platform for clinical neuroscience. This work strengthened both my research and writing skills and gave me a deeper appreciation of how high‑quality educational resources are created.
Another valuable experience was contributing to the draft update of a national encephalitis audit tool. This helped me understand how audit tools support guideline development and improve patient care by highlighting gaps and ensuring best practice.
Overall, being part of the Brain Infection and Inflammation Group has given me a rich and varied exposure to academic research. It has shown me how research directly influences clinical care and has encouraged me to continue seeking out research opportunities throughout my career.