Meet Ahlam Alamri of the University of Aberdeen (United Kingdom). The PhD student is a member of J. Martin Collinson’s lab who is presently at this week’s meeting on Stem Cell Biology. This is her first meeting at CSHL “and it is not going to be the last one.” Her maiden experience included a poster presentation on “Pax6-mutant mice do have active Limbal epithelial stem cells ....but do not respond to corneal injury” which also happens to also be Ahlam’s very first poster presentation. Her colleauges “came and asked questions starting informal chats,” making her experience an incredible one.

What are your research interests? What are you working on?
I am working with limbal epithelial stem cells and how they play a role in the maintenance of the cornea.  

How did you decide to make this the focus of your research?  
I became interested in stem cells after my master’s degree which was in hematology. As I was deciding what to do for my PhD, I was thinking about something that can be new and found that stem cells is the window of the future and stem cells can be studies in medical genetics, hematology, immunology...etc. So, many studies are going in labs to understand the significant role stem cells play in the maintenance of the eye. Prof. J. Martin Collinson is my inspiration and I am doing my PhD under his supervision. I can remember the first interview with him and the way he talked about his work. Working with limbal epithelial stem cells in mutant mice in vivo and in vitro has given me more experience and expanded my knowledge to figure out how ocular surface is maintained in health and disease.  

Was there something specific about the Stem Cell Biology Meeting that drew you to attend?
The number of stem cell topics to be covered in the meeting drew me to attend and it has been excellent.

What is your key takeaway from the Meeting?
Stem cells are an extremely valuable key to understanding the causes of many diseases.

If someone curious in attending this meeting asked you for feedback or advice on it, what would you tell him/her?
It is the one of the best meetings on stem cell and is one he/she should not miss it. It exceeded my expectations.

What do you like most about your time at CSHL?
The campus is incredible. The harbor is amazing and is a great area to walk around.  Also, the participants of the meeting come from many different countries but we share similar interests. I met new colleagues and have enjoyed their company and conversations.

Thank you to Ahlam for being this week's featured visitor. To meet other featured scientists - and discover the wide range of science that takes part in a CSHL meeting or course - go here.