It's a career highlight most scientists strive towards - publication in one of the world's most influential journals: Nature.
But Aberdeen graduate Marios Koliopoulos has done exactly that - just months after graduating from the University of Aberdeen with a first class MSci degree in Biochemistry with Industrial Placement.
As part of his degree Marios carried out a year-long industrial placement at London’s MRC National Institute for Medical Research where he explored signalling networks that control our body’s immune responses.
That work - which produced new insights into the workings of an enzyme involved in regulating inflammatory and immune responses - has now been published in a paper or ‘letter’ in Nature with Marios as third author.
Marios - who was also a joint recipient of the Leonard Simkin Memorial Prize in Biochemistry for his performance during his Honours year, said: “When I started my placement I never anticipated that the results of my work would be published in Nature. It’s very exciting.”
Dr Allison Carrington, Industrial Placement Co-ordinator at the University’s School of Medical Sciences, added: “We are very proud of Marios. A few of our students may get a paper published in a journal not long after graduating, but I’ve never known one to have a paper published in Nature so early in their career. It really is an extraordinary feat and it’s one many scientists with already established careers are still hoping to achieve.”
Marios - who is originally from Greece - is now studying for a PhD at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research.
“My long term plan is to carry on research and stay in academia,” said the 25-year-old, who is the first scientist in his family.
See the Nature paper: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature12638.html