The UCL IHI Student Experience: #4 Anna Aryee

Dr Anna Aryee is a specialist trainee in Infectious Diseases & Microbiology, a previous NIHR Academic Clinical Fellow and a current UCL Wellcome Clinical PhD Fellow. Her clinical training and keen interest in developing interventions to combat antibiotic resistance have led Anna to develop a PhD project, at the UCL Institute of Health Informatics, which examines the epidemiology of community-onset urinary tract infections and bloodstream infections, and how these relate to antibiotic resistance. Anna shared her thoughts on what it is like to study at the UCL IHI:

What project are you currently working on?

I am currently undertaking a PhD supervised by Professor Andrew Hayward and Dr Laura Shallcross. I am using routinely collected electronic healthcare records to investigate outcomes in patients with community-onset urinary tract and bloodstream infections, and how these outcomes relate to antibiotic resistance.

What excited you about the project?

Antibiotic resistance is a massive and growing global problem which is of great relevance to my clinical work as a registrar in Infectious Diseases and Microbiology. It has also allowed me to develop data analysis skills which I hope will serve me well in the future!

What made you choose the UCL IHI?

My PhD funding is from the Wellcome Trust (via UCL) and I chose IHI because it is well established in EHR-based research.

What is your favourite aspect of being a student at the UCL IHI?

It is big enough to have a significant impact but small enough to (pretty much) know everybody!

What has been your greatest achievement here so far? 

My PhD upgrade was a large piece of work which really helped me to structure my PhD and give me a framework within which to work.

What advice would you give to prospective students considering a course at the UCL IHI?

Speak to the supervisors/tutors but also come and have a chat with current students!

What will you do once you finish being a student at the UCL IHI?

I will be going back to my clinical training and hopefully maintaining a career as a clinical academic by applying for further research funding.

To find out more about the learning opportunities we offer at the UCL IHI, visit our study pages. 

If you have any questions about coming to study here email the education team.