Interview MDR PhD student: Jay Samal

Who are you, what is your background and how did you get involved in MDR?

My name is Jay Samal and I have joined

MDR as a PhD candidate at MERLN Institute, Maastricht University, under the supervision of Prof. Roman Truckenmüller and Dr. Stefan Giselbrecht​. I obtained my bachelor’s degree in Biotechnology from Manipal University, India. I then moved to Finland to pursue my master’s degree in Biomedical Sciences and Engineering from Tampere University (formerly Tampere University of Technology).

Tell us a little bit more about the research you are planning to do within MDR.

I have joined MDR under flagship 3.3: Materials-driven solutions for the regeneration of kidney function. During my PhD project, I will focus on recapitulating kidney function in vitro by re-engineering kidney organoids.

Who is your biggest example in science and why?
I find Dr. Barry Marshall’s unorthodox (and inspiring) approach to science and his experiments, which ultimately proved his hypothesis, to be quite fascinating.

What do you do in your free time and how can we recognize the typical Jay?​

In my free time, I like trekking and photography.