HSST – STP Perspectives

An Introduction to the HSST

I am a Clinical Scientist in Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics at the Viapath Genomics Laboratories in London, and I started the HSST in September 2021 (so I am cohort 8 in HSST speak). Before moving to Viapath in May 2021 I was based in the East Midlands Regional Molecular Genetics Service in Nottingham, where I completed the STP in Clinical Bioinformatics Genomics in 2016, and then worked as a Clinical Scientist. This blog represents my experience of the HSST so far.

An interview with a Consultant Clinical Scientist

For this blog post I interviewed Nuthar Jassam who is a Consultant Clinical Biochemist and Clinical Lead for Blood Sciences at Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust. She studied on both the old and new Higher specialist Scientists Training (HSST) programme (Doctorate equivalent of the STP). We spoke about her day to day job, the HSST, courses she’s found helpful and what she thinks her most important attributes are.

So Nuthar, what are you working on at the moment?

I’m looking at the longitudinal antibody response to Covid-19 in patients with mild infection. The first phase, which was evaluating one of the techniques used in the longitudinal study has just been published and can be found here.