The MSc in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Antimicrobial Resistance (EIDAR) is the newest programme addition to the School of Biodiversity, One Health, and Veterinary Medicine (SBOHVM), introduced in 2019. I was enrolled in this program from 2023 to 2024. The programme is led by Dr. Tiziana Lembo and Dr. Jo Halliday, and other instructors are Prof. Louise Matthews, Dr. Harriet Auty, Dr. Katarina Oravcova, Dr. Taya Forde and Dr. Kareen Macleod. This is a postgraduate taught (PGT) programme involving two terms of courses and one term of an independent research project.
I first learned about the microbiome in my undergraduate first-year writing seminar class at the University of Pennsylvania and wanted to further pursue its study in my postgraduate education. I was attracted to this course for its specialisation in the microbiome—the only of its kind in all of the UK. As an international student hailing from New York who had previously completed exchange study at the University of Edinburgh in my third year of undergraduate study, I was eager to return to Scotland and immerse myself in a new city!
As with all SBOHVM’s PGT courses, the bulk of Term 1 is spent in the core course, Key Research Skills, which is taken with all Masters’ students in SBOHVM. Here, students learn the fundamental skills and tools to succeed in their courses including scientific writing and communication, an introduction to R, experimental design, and generalised linear models. Then, Term 1 involves the course ‘Core Skills in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases’, where students learn the fundamental skills and tools to succeed in epidemiology including history, terminology, diagnostic testing, and study design types. My favourite part of Term 1 was being able to apply my learning from Key Research Skills to our final assignment. For this, we independently developed and fitted a Generalised Linear Mixed Model to a dataset on household behaviour characteristics (such as antibiotic use, milk consumption, boiling of milk before using it, etc) to identify possible risk factors for multi drug resistance. The most challenging part of Term 1 for me was learning and writing my own code in R as my prior experience was limited to only inputting pre-written code into R during my exchange at University of Edinburgh. However, with the help of my course instructors, teaching assistants, peers, and my own curiosity, I learned and began to enjoy coding for its systematic organisation.
Term 2 is spent in a series of short, intensive courses on specific aspects of antimicrobial resistance including epidemiology, genetics & genomics, infectious disease ecology, and society. I gained opportunities to apply my learning in real world applicable assignments throughout these courses, including writing a concept note proposing an epidemiological study focused on antimicrobial resistance and pitching it for funding, conducting genetic sequencing analysis using a published gene sequence, or debating “if the EU is right to ban imports of animal products from countries where antibiotics are used as growth promoters” in front of UK government and policy representatives. Due to the contrast with my urban upbringing in New York, my favourite part of Term 2 was getting the opportunity to visit the University of Glasgow’s Cochno Farm and Research Centre led by Dr Harriet Auty and George King. I really enjoyed the opportunity to learn about the milking process first hand and as a result, was better able to appreciate the nuances of dairy farms.
The final term is spent on a supervised independent research project. Students have the opportunity to choose from pre-proposed projects or propose their own project. This process begins in late December to early January. For my independent project, I was able to apply the statistical modelling skills I learned during the academic year from Professor Dan Haydon to explore my intellectual curiosity in microplastics and their impact on the gut microbiome through two meta-analyses on mice in experimental studies. I was fortunate to have not only one, but two wonderful supervisors for my project: Dr. Jelle Boonekamp and Dr. Davide Dominoni with help from PhD student Rachel Reid, all in SBOHVM.
I recommend this program to any student interested in epidemiology to further develop their quantitative and qualitative skills from an interdisciplinary perspective. As an elected Student Representatives Council Class Representative, I worked first-hand with the SBOVHM staff and can attest to the commitment everyone has to not only collecting, but ultimately implementing student feedback from one term to the next, and from one academic year to the next. As a Class Representative, I also had the opportunity to sit on the panel of the 2024 SBOVHM “Ask your Academics” session for incoming students where we discussed the six programs we offer!
As I moved to Glasgow without ever having visited and without knowing anyone in the city, I truly believe Glasgow is one of the best cities to be in as an international student to immerse yourself in history, explore exquisite architecture, be part of a community culture, and most of all, feel safe whilst living away from home.
Overall, my favourite aspects of the course have been the application-based assignment opportunities in my area of interest, the microbiome, and the supportive SBHOVM staff. My favourite aspects of living in Glasgow have been the safe and effective public transportation infrastructure that have allowed me, to name just a few, feed hairy coos in Pollok Park, eat whole lobster in Ayr, hike in Loch Lomond, witness the breathtaking Culzean Castle, or go seal-spotting on the Isle of Arran! I was also very easily able to travel back and forth to Edinburgh as I wished, as the two cities are very well connected by public transportation. Pictured below are just a few highlights from the breathtaking sights of Scotland.
Written by Anika Kalra, a Masters student on the EIDAR MSc program, 2023-2024. Anika is now applying her scientific background in life sciences strategy consulting as an Analyst at ClearView Healthcare Partners.
Banner photo: EIDAR cohort field outing to New Lanark, 2024
