Cian O'Leary

I arrived in RCSI at the end of September 2011 and found myself at home straight away.

One of the best things about studying a PhD for me is that you get to work with people who have similar interests, but also have diverse backgrounds and projects. In this environment, it is only natural that you soon find yourself with plenty of close, engaging friends over the years.

The work and lifestyle of a PhD is hard, no doubt about it, but it helps to be hanging in there with such a group who can relate to your situation and with whom you can have a laugh at the same time.

In RCSI, this environment goes that step further than with other sprawling campuses because the wide variety of scientific and health-related disciplines are all cooped up here within a few buildings. Inevitably, you will get to know others in different lab groups who will help greatly when you need some assistance outside of your expertise.

Career-wise, this exposure will benefit you by developing context and relevant knowledge in other disciplines.

Overall, research itself is a career for me that is creative, fascinating and exciting, but what made a PhD in RCSI best for me was that I got to work with a close-knit collective that maximised my future opportunities, but more importantly, found new long-lasting friendships.

Dr Cian O’Leary, Pharmaceutics Lecturer, RCSI; PhD in Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Class of 2016