Odara Medagedara

Before undertaking her PhD, Odara graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Biological Sciences (Development, Regeneration, and Stem Cells) from the University of Edinburgh in 2022. During this time, she undertook 4 research placements, the first being a year-long computational biology project under the supervision of Dr Antonia Mey from the School of Chemistry at the University of Edinburgh. This project was completed alongside the 3rd year of her degree. This was followed by her final year project which involved a 3-month placement studying neuromesodermal progenitor cells in Professor Val Wilson's lab in the Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM), Edinburgh. Lastly, she spent 6 weeks studying cell fate decisions under the supervision of Professor Sally Lowell in the CRM and another 6 weeks undertaking glioblastoma research in Professor Steven M Pollard's lab in the CRM during 2022.

Alongside her undergraduate degree, she was awarded nine different Edinburgh Awards, each representing ≥50 hours of extra-curricular work. Amongst other things, these awards recognised her engagement in Societies, public engagement, and science communication efforts during her four years at Edinburgh. She also won two grants, earned three awards, and one honourable mention from the University of Edinburgh's Social Responsibility and Sustainability Department for the green inititives she developed and implemented. Additionally, she was shortlisted for the EUSA Student Awards in 2021 and nominated again in 2022 for her efforts enhancing Edinburgh's student community.

My PhD aims to use powerful imaging techniques to characterise the cellular architecture of the lung, specifically the alveoli and submucosal glands. These structures are crucial to lung function but, despite their importance, our understanding of their development is lacking. As such, my PhD involves conducting a multi-model in situ characterization of healthy and damaged alveoli and SMGs. Therefore, we will be able to understand the structure of these parts of the lung and know more about how exposure to specific toxicants affects them.

I am also affiliated with the Rawlins group at the Gurdon Institute.