Home
Institution
Humboldt-Universität
zu Berlin
Host
Institution(s)
The Hospital
for Sick Children, University of Toronto
Mentor: Martin Post, PhD, DVM
The Hospital for Sick Children (HSC) in Toronto is a health care, teaching and research center dedicated exclusively to children. It is affiliated with the University of Toronto.
For my nine months of research experience I joined the Martin Post lab, which is part of the "Lung Biology Programme" at HSC. That programme includes a wide variety of research topics such as developmental lung biology, ventilation studies, the molecular understanding of Cystic Fibrosis and possible applications for Gene therapy.
›» Abstract
Two months in Neonatology and Pediatric Oncology.
HSC has proved to be a great place to work and study for me, as a future pediatrician. Education is seen as part of everybody's responsibilities, so you always find someone to teach and help you. There is frequent and helpful communication in our lab, between different groups of the research department as well as between research institute and clinics. Everybody seems to be committed to the goal of "making sick kids better". The dedication to excellent medicine and patient care constantly mentioned by HSC officials helps to motivate the staff. I remember my former reservations against claiming your own institution to be "the very best" when the Berlin Charité announced the goal to become a "center of excellence" a few years ago, but now that I have experienced how motivating it can be, I consider it a useful thing.
Toronto feels good! It is a big, very American-looking city with a financial district full of skyscrapers nicely located on the shore of Lake Ontario. It is a very diverse place, too. More than 40% of its population is of Asian descent, there is a big Chinatown, a Little Italy, and a Greektown, to mention only a few of the many districts strongly influenced by certain ethnic groups. All of them merge into a highly entertaining and liberal city with a vivid cultural life, virtually every kind of bar and restaurant, thousands of coffee-shops (having a cup of coffee seems to be a Canadian passion), and a great nightlife. Another very important reason why I like the city is the fact that you feel safe even at nighttime and everywhere you go. You find quiet neighbourhoods close to downtown, a nice waterfront at the Lake, and the city is said to be very "green". Well, I cannot confirm that now, since the Canadian winter will last for a couple of more months. It is freezing cold here!
I stay at a students' home. The main advantage is its convenient downtown location, within walking distance to work, the waterfront and various entertainment districts. There is no need to have a car, probably a unique situation in North America. Moreover, the "Residence College Hotel" is a very good place to meet people. The difficulties I encountered were few. I lost (!) weight during the first weeks when I tried to get used to American food. Now I know where to find everything from Polish pancakes to German Pumpernickel and Dutch Gouda to Greek goat cheese, not to mention the variety of tropical fruits the Asians bring here. Life is more expensive than back home. For the rent I pay for my tiny and basic room I could live in a little castle in Berlin, and to go out with friends usually means to spend a fortune. Everything is considerably cheaper than in the U.S., though.
Overall, my BMEP stay is an invaluable experience, well worth every effort and the extra study time. I like the custom of acknowledging people who have helped you with your project that you will find here, even after the briefest presentation. Therefore, I want to express my particular thanks to Martin Post for being an excellent supervisor at work as well as in personal affairs, to my colleague Maciek Kuliszewski for his exceptional helpfulness in the lab, for showing me around Toronto and the ski resorts and for his constant care about my food supplies, and to Payam Akhyari for the happy times we spent together strolling around Toronto or just having cup of tea at our "Residence".