Students’ testimonies

I am a Master 2 student studying Microbiology and Immunology at Montpellier, I was lucky enough to have been able to do my Master 1 internship at the IRIM in Dr Laurence Briant’s lab : “Mosquito-borne Viruses and Host Cofactors”. For a Master 1 student, not having a lot of experience in lab work, Dr Briant bestowed a lot of confidence in me by giving me a 4 month internship.
The team studies Arboviruses (Chikungunya and Zika viruses mainly), and focalizes mainly on the replication of these human pathogens. The title of my internship project was “Interaction between the Chikungunya virus non structural proteins and the host cell’s lipid metabolism”, a fascinating project that I worked on along with a very talented Engineer of the team.

The internship went very well and was prolonged by 1 extra month so that I could continue my work.  During these 5 months, I was able to find a friend in every single member of the team. And something that I really appreciated was that every member was willing to help each other and exchange ideas even if they weren’t directly implicated in the project. The team gave me an expertise that I can’t put a price on, and I have been keeping contact with the team since to follow-up on the progression of their projects with which they were able to captivate my passion.

“I did a 6-month  Master’s internship in Matteo Bonazzi’s team  “Cell Biology of Bacterial Infections” . The aim of my project was to characterize a Coxiella burnetii effector. That enabled me to focus on host-pathogen interaction, by studying an interesting ability of this bacteria: eukaryotic genes acquisition allowing adaptation to host environment. With this project, I improved my knowledge in cellular biology, bacteriology and I acquired new skills. I really enjoyed working in this group because it’s a dynamic team with promising projects. It’s a team where you feel well and where you have the opportunity to evolve and learn. This experience motivated me to pursue this project for a PhD. ”

Naresh Yandrapall, PhD student

Team “Membrane Domains and Viral Assembly”

2013-2016

“I was a PhD student at IRIM from 2013 to 2016. Those three years in the institute and on the CNRS campus are very memorable and were a great experience for me, both professionally and personally. As well as being a great place to work for a PhD, it is also an excellent place to make good friends and to receive great support from both coworkers and the administration.”

Ayyappasamy S. Perumal, PhD student

Team “Bacterial enzymes and antibiotic resistance”

2013-2016

“I spent 3 years (2013-2016), as a PhD, learning science and reasoning out scientific questions at IRIM (called CPBS at the time), CNRS, Montpellier. The institute is as vibrant and happening as Montpellier itself. The campus is situated away from the regular city set-ups, therefore, calm and productive. The institute attracts a lot of international researchers – a place to meet new people with new ideas. The lab organization is efficient and I was particularly impressed by the ease of availability of the resources/instrumentation for the researchers. The administrative staff are very friendly and well-planned. Overall, I spent a great 3 years as a PhD student at IRIM, Montpellier – will be cherished always”