The chance to work with other students from a wide range of backgrounds and the positive approach of university staff have been among the highlights of Kai’s MSc experience.

He decided to follow up a degree in biochemistry from Glasgow with the MSc in Precision Medicine: Genomics and Analytics at Leeds.

Kai Lawson-McDowall

The course initially attracted him because it allowed him to combine his interests in programming, statistics and biology – and also because of the university’s reputation for high academic standards and student employability.

He said: “Something else that’s really nice is that everyone has come from quite different subject areas. And so you get a sort of ‘melding of minds’ when you are doing group projects with your classmates.”

Similarly he has found that staff have diverse expertise and are not only willing and able to answer any questions but are always helpful if students want to do additional projects.

Kai has also enjoyed the opportunity to work with industry. One piece of research has involved working with the applied genetics team from GSK.

For his own future Kai is looking at options in industry and may well head for Cambridge with its thriving biotech sector.

Find out more about the course