I am fascinated by the sophisticated molecular mechanisms used by pathogens (especially parasites) to establish chronic infections in their hosts. I know that having experience in bioinformatics, specifically programming, underpins great scientific research and I saw Cell2Cell as an incredible opportunity to acquire an invaluable skillset (parasite sequencing) that will allow me to be better prepared for my future career. Cell2Cell is complementary to my research as it allows me to combine my interests in both parasitology and genomics. In the last two years, I focused my passions on parasite molecular biology to gain enough knowledge and experience to successfully compete for such a prestigious European PhD fellowship. I became highly proficient at genetic engineering, microscopy and insect vector husbandry and manipulation while at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and have since developed command line-based programming for RNA-seq experiments at the University of Oxford. I wanted my future PhD project to help me develop a greater understanding of the uses and limitations of RNA-seq and go down to the single-cell level, a cutting-edge technology. Acquiring such a diverse and harmonized suite of research skills will allow me to face research challenges in any field where sequencing and programming have vital importance, both in basic science and translational research (i.e. antibiotic resistance).