Marleen Tilga: How I Found Kurglab and Entered the World of Scientific Research

My name is Marleen Tilga and I'm a third year Bachelor's student studying Genetic Engineering and currently writing my thesis in the Institute of Technology, under Reet Kurg's molecular biomedicine research group, Kurglab.

I started searching for laboratories a bit before I started my second year hoping, that there are plenty of free spots and I could make my choice purely by what I myself am interested in. From the beginning, I was sure that I wanted to do my research in cell biology, because that field has always held the most interest for me and I've understood it the most. At first, I browsed my home institute's, the Institute of Molecular and Cell biology, web page and tried to see which of the research groups available would suit me the most. I even met up with a group, but unfortunately all their spots were filled and they told me to reach out again in six months. I was a bit disappointed, but decided to wait. A few months later, however, I remembered my program manager having told us that some bachelor's theses have been done in private companies, which prompted me to think that other institutes in our university should also fill the requirements. Thus, I started looking through the web pages of other institutes and hit the jackpot when I got to the Institute of Technology, finding the molecular biomedicine laboratory Kurglab. I had already thought about going on to do my master's studies in biomedicine and thought that this would be a great opportunity to find out early if I was actually interested in it and what doing research in that field would look like. Molecular biomedicine sounded very complicated to me at first and I had my doubts whether they even accepted bachelor's students, but decided to still try – if you don't ask, you won't know.

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From the moment I stepped into the office of the director of the Institute of Technology, Reet Kurg, I felt welcome. Even though I was a bit hesitant and thought to just see how it goes, after Margit Mutso, Research Fellow in Biomedicine, gave me a tour and introduced me to people saying "This is Marleen, she'll be conducting her research in our lab", I too felt that I had found the right research group for myself and the decision was made.

As part of my Bachelor's thesis, I am researching large polyploid cancer cells. Originally I had a different research topic, but I would say that these exciting cells came to me on their own. I remember how, the first few times I got to photograph cells with a confocal microscope, I stared at the computer screen awestruck. Having previously only seen cells through an optical microscope, I could not imagine that it was possible to see cells so closely and in such detail with University laboratory equipment. I knew beforehand that cell nuclei were round, but on the screen I saw something completely different – the nuclei of many cells were seemingly flower-shaped.

So how can we ignore such cells and their study? The answer is that we cannot, and perhaps we should not. These are polyploid giant cancer cells (PGCC). Previously, scientists believed that such rosette-like PGCC cells were inactive, did not divide, and did not affect tumour biology whatsoever. In recent years, however, more attention has been paid to them, and it has been discovered that they may play an important role in the development of several characteristics of cancer. It has been shown that polyploid giant cancer cells can occur, for example, after chemotherapy, thereby causing drug resistance or tumour recurrence. In my own research, I see that they are capable of dividing, but they use mechanisms other than classical bipolar mitosis to do so.

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I am very grateful that Kurglab welcomed me so warmly and that my search for laboratories led me to the Institute of Technology. From the very beginning, I have felt that I am treated as an equal member of the research team, not just a student who can only be given the simplest tasks. I have been able to design my Bachelor's thesis entirely on my own – conducting experiments according to my own schedule, thinking and planning which experiments to do. This has given me a wonderful first encounter with scientific research and a better understanding of what goes into it. The biggest challenge has been to remain determined and to not give up, even when feeling disappointment, when the first few experiments do not go as planned. What I value the most, are the discussions with my supervisor, which have helped me to think more openly and approach problems differently. I am pleasantly surprised by how much I have learned about cancer and cell biology during my time in Kurglab, and how I am now able to participate in deep discussions with fellow scientists. Moving forward, I plan to continue my Master's studies and, of course, continue with my research.

Kurglab offers an excellent first experience in the world of science and a real opportunity for students to contribute to the development of cancer biology research. I would recommend that all students familiarise themselves not only with their home institute laboratories, but also with the research groups of other institutes, in order to broaden their options and find the most suitable environment for their research. The Institute of Technology offers a wide range of research topics not only in the field of computer engineering, but also in the fields of genetic engineering, biology, and environmental research.