Blog

Representing COLOTAN around the world

Representing COLOTAN around the world

With Christmas just around the corner, it only seems natural to reflect on the past year. In this blog post I would like to share two of my highlights in 2022, namely attending the ULLA summer school in Uppsala, Sweden and traveling to the US for the GPEN2022...

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A brief summary of my first year as a researcher

A brief summary of my first year as a researcher

It has been almost a year since the last time I wrote to you. A year full of learning, exploring, conducting experiments, and the stress keeps piling up. When I embarked on this journey, I never thought I could transform into the person or the researcher I am today....

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Becoming the Lupine Lady?

Becoming the Lupine Lady?

LATE. This blog post is late. One of those words that makes planners and lovers of deadlines cringe and squirm with discomfort. Like nails scraping across a chalkboard, making your skin crawl… And yet – sometimes it simply can’t be helped, unpleasant though it may be....

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My gut feeling knows best

My gut feeling knows best

Some things never change… Since my college years, which were not so long ago, trains have always been a constant in my life and it seems that no matter where I want to go in Italy, Bologna FS is a nearly inevitable stop. This is one of the many things I’ve learned in...

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The Swede in Denmark

The Swede in Denmark

I vividly remember coming to Copenhagen last year — it’s like it was yesterday. I remember it being quite cold (even though it was April…), and having a nose swollen and itchy from several PCR tests. Despite these massive setbacks (the Danes like sarcasm...

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Oops, how did I end up in Uppsala?

Oops, how did I end up in Uppsala?

This story starts some time ago, around May 2020. I’ve just successfully defended my master thesis online, amidst the pandemic, so no there will be no graduation ceremony, let alone any trip. Still, I have a joyful time for one day before reality hits hard: I am...

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A journey from India to Sweden!

A journey from India to Sweden!

It was a typical day, and everyone was working from home or enjoying so-called holidays at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Universities were closed, and I was trying to finish my masters’ project from home (How? It was based on 90% simulations and the remaining 10%...

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It’s all Greek to me!

It’s all Greek to me!

A big dream of mine has always been to study for some time abroad. After finishing my pharmacy studies in Germany, the time for the practical year came and I had the chance to spend half of it at the Infectious Disease and Pharmacokinetics Laboratory at the University...

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What’s a Greek doing in Cork?

What’s a Greek doing in Cork?

Ever since I was a teenager, I knew science was going to be my life partner. I remember myself being intrigued by biological phenomena and diseases and researching about them (the outbreak of Influenza virus back then certainly played a role). I would always ask...

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Getting started

Getting started

Looking out of my window and at the weather forecast for the coming days, it is undeniable that my recent decision to buy a better rain jacket was a good one. Unfortunately, it  can sometimes be a little more difficult to tell in advance whether a decision will be...

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May the power be with me!

May the power be with me!

I was pondering how to begin my first blog. And I suddenly went back in time to a bit earlier than the beginning of my COLOTAN story. During the last year of my master study, I decided that continuing in academia would suit me better. For this reason, I was already...

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How My Life Changed in 5 Months: A Digest

How My Life Changed in 5 Months: A Digest

ither by choice or chance, you’ve reached my post. Not just any post, but the first in my series of posts. And we started straight away with a plot twist: it wasn’t my life that changed; in reality, it was just me. But I don’t want to confuse you! First...

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From confusion to enlightment

From confusion to enlightment

“COLO-what?”  These were exactly my thoughts when I first read about the project online. But first things first: It was a given for me, that I don’t “only” want to finish my studies with a master’s degree but top it off with a PhD. Additionally, I didn’t want to just...

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From Erasmus to Marasmus to COLOTAN

From Erasmus to Marasmus to COLOTAN

Bringing Light into the Darkness   Though it’s well past midnight, a trace of daylight still lingers. It feels like it never truly gets dark here. It’s the summer of 2014 and I am visiting Uppsala for the first time. I reflect on the busy day I’ve had – finally...

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