🎤London-London Bridge🎤

Hej Hej Hej!! If the title of this post does not trigger some horrifying middle school memories, Fergie is ashamed of you.

This past week, I was in London with my core course (Translational Medicine! The best medicine!). I want to give you all an idea of my trip – great visits, great food, great company! (Thanks Stephanie and Magnus!)

Bike Tour

Got off our flight from Stockholm, dropped off our luggage at our hotel and *BAM* bike tour. Was a bit of a whirlwind but I love biking!! I saw the entirety (or what felt like the entirety) of London within three hours of being there, so THANKS, bike tour!

Our Visits – UTIs, MRIs, & More*

*Me getting verbally attacked multiple times for not being a Harry Potter fan, including getting called out by our Oxford tour guide. No hard feelings.

Our first visit in London was at the University College London Medical School. At the Royal Free Hospital campus, Dr. Jennifer Rohn talked to us about her research on Urinary Tract Infections. She is collaborating with engineers to create encapsulated antibiotics for bladder delivery.

On Tuesday, we visited University of Oxford! The campus was gorgeous, filled with Harry Potter references that I didn’t really get (I’m not a huge Harry Potter fan, SUE me!!), and for a split second I wish I had applied! Our visit at Oxford was at the Department of Anatomy, Physiology, and Genetics. Dr. Bowerman told us all about her research with Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), and two hopeful therapies that are in the process of being tested and hopefully approved.

At the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, we indulged in experiencing the behind-the-scenes of a MRI accompanied by physicists at the UCL Institute of Neurology! We talked a clinical scientist about his research with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease, and how MRI biomarker technology can drive forward potential therapies against it. We also guessed MRI scans of fruit. I was convinced one of them was a persimmon but I was utterly wrong.

Curry, Modern Art, & More*

*So much food: my life narrative

My one DEFINITE recommendation for if you find yourself in London with nothing to do (probably never) is to walk down Brick Lane in the East End! It is the heart of the city’s Bangladeshi community and is lined with curry houses! If you walk further down towards Shoreditch, you also come across many many vintage shops that I didn’t get a chance to browse through 🙁

With our free time, I decided to go to Tate modern! Modern art confuses me a little and at one point Emma and I walked into a HUGE room filled with what looked like giant potatoes so that was good.

Not to make you hungry BUT I want to quickly go through the food that was provided for us. Everything was so good and I definitely need to go on a couple of runs now that I’m back in Stockholm (haha, but not haha at the same time) but here’s the list:

-Fish & Chips

• Amazing Italian food at Jamie’s Italian!
• ENDLESS curry and assortment of grilled meats at the east end
• MORE curry on my free time
• High Tea – scones, dainty sandwiches, avocado mousse (?!!)
• This one is a little shameful, but we had Chipotle. Three months without it has been strenuous

We are back now, treasuring every second we have left here in Stockholm. Feels good to be ‘holm 🙂

pip pip! cheerio!

Mai