Oliver Reed, a second year BM4 Medicine student at Southampton, has recently received the prestigious award of best UK intern at a national ceremony. Here, he discusses the accolade, and his internship with Dr Tom Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Respiratory Medicine.

What made you want to find an internship originally?

I was hoping to do some research over the summer, as I enjoyed learning about lung diseases and wanted to know more. I had only hoped to do a few weeks voluntary laboratory work, as I didn’t expect to get any funding, but when I found out I had the opportunity to carry out research as a paid intern over the whole summer it was brilliant.

Could you outline what you did during your internship within the University?

My aim was to design a “smoke machine model”, in which you could smoke lung cells to measure the effect of the smoke. After carrying out market research, I realised that the cost of purchasing such a machine was too great. I contacted a local engineer Bob Smallwood (Gauge Technology Ltd) who was able to design and produce a smoke machine at an affordable cost. From there I used laboratory techniques to measure the level of cell death and inflammation in the “smoked” lung cells.

What was the best part of the internship?

The best part of the internship was seeing the project come together, with the initial prototypes to the final finished product. Then being able to use this machine to model the effect of smoke on lung cells. It was also great to be involved in a research team, seeing all the great research that was taking place in the group and having an opportunity to learn more about a subject.

Was there anything that you had learnt in your studies that you were able to apply during the internship?

I used the respiratory medicine teaching that I had acquired over the year to good effect, but a lot about research is that you are investigating things that people don’t know much about, that’s why it is exciting! I was able to critically appraise papers, a skill that I had learnt last year, which proved very useful in trying to decide how to make the most out of the machine.

When you were first nominated for the national best intern award, did you expect to win?

Definitely not. It was just great to be nominated. The other candidates had achieved some brilliant things on their summer placement and it was great to hear about their experiences.

How did it feel when you first found out that you had won the award?

It was brilliant. If it wasn’t for Dr Mirella Spalluto, Dr Karl Staples and Josh Wilkinson (the academics who supported me during the placement) for their experience and advice I would never have been able to get any results from the experiments. Also Bob Smallwood for being so passionate and enthusiastic about the project and delivering a fantastic machine. Lastly Dr Tom Wilkinson for giving me the opportunity to work for his research group.

Would you recommend the Excel Placement scheme to other students?

I definitely would recommend the placement scheme. It is a great opportunity to experience possible careers and get to see what the job entails. It is also a brilliant opportunity to earn some money while also being able to add something onto your CV.

The University’s Excel Placement Programme is open to staff around the University who would like to benefit from having an intern join their team. The placements can be over the vacation periods or in term time. For more information, please visit the Career Destinations website