International academic success for Blackburn student

A Blackburn neuroscience student had extra cause for celebration at her University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) graduation ceremony after her research article was accepted for publication in a respected international academic journal, which accepts articles of the highest standards.

Farheen Rokad, who this week graduated from the University with a degree in neuroscience, was named as the lead author on a piece of research published in the Journal for Alzheimer’s Disease, an international publication featuring the work of researchers from around the world.  Farheen was able to take part in the research, which looked for clues towards brain tissue damage that could account for a leaky blood-brain barrier in cases of gum disease, through a 10-week summer internship with the University’s School of Dentistry.

The 22-year-old former Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School and Blackburn College pupil said: “The internship offered a great opportunity to work with experienced researchers in a professional setting from start to finish.  I was able to collaborate with three different universities; Florida, Cardiff and Birmingham in order to work using the best methodologies and techniques to carry out the research at UCLan. At the end of the project I prepared and attended a poster presentation event to showcase the findings."

"My time as an intern gave me more than I predicted as the experiences and skills I attained went beyond scientific research. I was a student who received all the help I needed but was treated as a professional. I particularly liked the ability to work outside my academic school to network with more staff and broaden my view on how interdisciplinary my neuroscience course is.

“To see my work published in such a prestigious journal while I was still an undergraduate student is a fantastic reward and motivates me to excel to my full potential.”

Dr Sim Singhrao, a senior research fellow with a special interest in understanding how gum disease becomes a risk factor for Alzheimers disease, supervised Farheen in her internship.

She said: “Farheen spent days preparing the tissue sections and then carrying out special stains and finally examining tissue slices under the light microscope. Well, her enthusiasm, hard work, determination and above all patience paid off when she found subtle damage in the smallest blood vessels, called capillaries, in the brain region that is involved with memory. This subtle damage adequately related to proteins that were leaking out of capillaries. This was a unique finding and consequently Farheen, together with her co-authors and intern supervisor, was able to prepare a manuscript and submit it to a leading scientific journal that shares new discoveries in Alzheimer’s disease.  

“To be able to publish one’s research in a peer-reviewed journal such as the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease is an honour and to be able to do that as an undergraduate is a significant personal achievement. This sets Farheen onto an excellent start, either for postgraduate research or in finding employment, and I wish her the very best of luck in her future career choices.”