Case Study

Dr Sagen Zac-Varghese

Sagen Zac-Verghese

Sagen was appointed as a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD fellow in 2008 and has recently been awarded her PhD. She has written the following about her career so far and how the Wellcome Trust programme at Imperial College has helped her career.

"The Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at Imperial College London, led by Professor Steve Bloom, has an international reputation for research into gut hormones and appetite regulation. As a NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow I spent three months in this laboratory. During this time, I was actively involved in a number of research projects, a mixture of laboratory work and clinical studies. I developed an interest in the endocrine cells that produce all the gut hormones. These endocrine cells are located throughout the gut and secrete a variety of hormones that control appetite. Many pharmaceutical companies are currently investigating these hormones as a means of treating diabetes and obesity.  

I was able to gather some preliminary data which helped me to apply for an Imperial College Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Programme Fellowship. This grant enabled me to continue research into these endocrine cells. My supervisors during this time, Professor Gary Frost and Dr Niamh Martin, enabled me to continue this work and translate it into clinical studies.  During my PhD I had the opportunity to present this research at international meetings in China and Greece. The Wellcome Trust and Imperial College were enormously helpful in highlighting meetings that would be of interest, and also informing us of potential grants and ways to continue in an academic career path. I was able to form important collaborations between my department and groups in Cambridge, looking at endocrine cells, due to the reputation of the department and support from the Wellcome Trust.

I was awarded my PhD in March 2011 and following this was awarded a post as a NIHR Clinical Lecturer. This will allow me to continue work begun during my PhD and cement some of the collaborative work begun during that time. I will now be looking at the role of endocrine cells in the metabolic syndrome with Professor Steve Bloom and Dr Tricia Tan. I can whole heartedly recommend the Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism for anyone wishing to do a PhD and I am extremely grateful to the Imperial College Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD Programme for funding my research.

I think that the clinical academic training programme at Imperial College has worked very well for me, allowing progression from Academic Clinical Fellow to Clinical Research Training Fellow and then Clinical Lecturer.  Similar opportunities are available in most clinical specialties."