Alumni Joy’s success after escaping war in Ukraine

Joy (Toromo) Stephen
Joy (Toromo) Stephen

The Unit was delighted to offer Joy (Toromo) Stephen a job as she arrived in Dundee to escape the war in Ukraine, and we’re now celebrating her successful application to study medicine at the University of Dundee.

Joy made the tough decision to leave Ternopil National Medical University in Ukraine as the war broke out, unsure of what the future would hold for her. Motivated by a passion for science and medicine, she joined our MRC Genotyping team in 2022 to gain practical experience and support to apply to UK medical school programmes.

“My sincere gratitude for the opportunity you provided me. It was quite wonderful. The guidance and research experience I gained during my time in the Unit has been invaluable, and the research skills and academic insight have undoubtedly contributed to my development - I carry those lessons with me as I embark on this new chapter.

I encourage anyone joining the Unit to be curious and open-minded, and to join the variety of social activities to meet the different teams and discover how they collaborate and share skills and reagents.”

Joy Stephen, former MRC Genotyping team intern

“This is such wonderful news, we are very proud of Joy. She is inspirational and I am so pleased that we have been able to support her to get back to medical training. We wish Joy every success in her future career.”

Dario Alessi, MRC PPU Director

To celebrate Joy’s time at the MRC PPU, her determination, and her career journey so far, we are delighted to share her story here