Doctoral candidate 3 - Yimeng Chen - University of Oslo, Norway

Supervisor: Lorena Arranz, UiO,

co-supervisor: Friedemann Kiefer WU

Meet our Doctoral Candidate number 3, Yimeng Chen from Chengdu China!

Tell us about yourself, who are you? ( and how do you like to spend your time?

My name is Yimeng and I'm originally from Chengdu, a large city in the southwest of China. I moved to Finland in 2015 to study and have been living there about nine years in multiple places like Kokkola, Tampere and Turku until moving to Oslo, Norway this October. I would say that I already got quite used to the Nordic Countries and their characteristics such as the weather, the snow and the darkness during winter, hence I would really like to stay here.

In my free time I practice various forms of martial arts. I am currently practicing karate but I also like other forms of martial arts such as Muay Thai, Judo or Jiu-Jitsu. I believe that this is a great balance to the mental effort of work and everyday life. Besides that, I am also really into horror films, preferably the ones by Ari Aster!

 What is your educational background and what have been up until now?
I obtained both my Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Finland. My Bachelor's degree was in Energy and Environmental Engineering and my Master's degree was in Biomedical Imaging. In other words, my background is kind of a bridge between biosciences and engineering.

As for my Master's thesis, I worked on the bone marrow before starting to work for a Finnish contract research organization, that offers preclinical efficacy services in therapeutic areas of oncology and skeletal diseases.

 Why did you decide to join ImAge-D?
I was always determined to do a PhD after my Master's degree. So I was continuously looking for suitable opportunities while I was working in Finland. After two years of working as a research assistant I gained a lot of practical experiences in image analysis as well as the procedure with laboratory animals.
As I saw this position advertised I online, I felt like I fulfilled the necessary requirements plus the subject was very interesting to me, as it is related to my academic background and the research experiences I gained previously. Furthermore the position combines both bioscience an imageing, fields I was majoring in.

 What are your expectations regarding your work in the ImAge-D project?

First of all, I see the project as an excellent opportunity to grow and develop both professionally and personally. I expect to gain many new insights and knowledge from the various fields represented in the project and with the help of different techniques. I see the project as an opportunity to further develop my problem-solving skills, my critical thinking and my personal growth.
Since the topic of networking plays a crucial role in this project, I am looking forward to getting in touch with different students, scientists and researchers in order to expand my own network and capture different perspectives. In the long term, I see this as an excellent opportunity to create many new possibilities.

Could you share a fun fact with me?

Did you know that the femur is the largest and thickest bone in the human body?

Thank you Yimeng for the exciting interview, we wish you all the best and are very happy that you have found your way into our network!