My name is Léonce Dusengemungu, a Rwandan national and Ph.D. candidate in Biotechnology from the Copperbelt University, Zambia. I came to University of Valladolid, Campus of Palencia under the PhD program ‘Conservación y Uso Sostenible de Sistemas Forestales. Topic: Forest pathogenic fungi’ supervised by Prof Julio Javier Díez Casero.
Gaining a wide experience in a laboratory is a big part of any biotechnology field; for my exchange program, I was looking for a high-standard laboratory and expertise to work on one of my research objectives about fungal pathology. Doing research in the Pathology Lab here at the Campus of Palencia is currently benefiting me in so many ways. Our Lab is well equipped and has several postgraduate and post-doc researchers working on a similar project. From these projects, I am learning new molecular techniques and bioinformatics tools, particularly in forest pathology, which is helping me to acquire fundamental knowledge and skills in plant pathology. Being on the Campus of Palencia has improved my academic network circle and equipped me with the knowledge which will guide me toward a successful academic career.
The Campus of Palencia is a calm environment with caring and supporting academic staff. In addition, my colleagues and many international students make it such an ideal place to conduct research, and I believe the experience I will get here will prepare me for future independent and collaborative research projects.
