Marianne Ismail: Chief Executive Officer, Microbira Ltd

The course has given me confidence to ask questions and has built a level of knowledge I would never have achieved in any other way.

Tell us a bit about your background 

I am from Scotland and studied for my first degree in Genetics at the University of Edinburgh before becoming an investment analyst. I covered global pharmaceutical and chemical companies for several financial companies and ended up in New York working for a major investment bank. My career gave me the opportunity to travel widely visiting growth companies and running investment portfolios.

In 2019, I decided to focus on an in vitro diagnostics company which I co-founded.  I then searched for a course that would offer a variety of modules related to infectious diseases to broaden my knowledge and help me work with clinicians. CMID at Edinburgh University was perfect and offered me the chance to combine my day-to-day work with part time study.  

How has the programme benefited your career? 

The breadth of the programme is immense, but it also has the depth I was seeking. The modules are challenging, particularly balancing study with work, but it has regenerated my love of reading scientific papers and being up to date on developments in the infectious disease area.

My programme overlapped with COVID, so the courses were especially relevant . My career has really benefited from learning to critically assess scientific papers as well as from all the knowledge shared by my fellow students on blackboard posts.

In building my company, which will employ scientists, I now have  better background knowledge to identify the necessary skills required for the various facets of invitro diagnostics in infectious diseases.

What has been the highlight of the programme? 

The highlight of the programme for me has been the final year carrying out a research project .  I feel truly fortunate to have had this opportunity. As well as being in a professional research lab with many interesting research projects, a practical project gave me a new dimension of being able to discuss and solve issues with experts.

Everybody in the lab was extremely helpful and I could not have completed the task without the encouragement and support of my supervisors. 

What can you do now that you couldn’t have done prior to the programme?  

Before this programme I had very limited, "armchair" knowledge of diagnostic testing and now I have a much better understanding of what is essential in a good test and the standard levels which are acceptable.

The course has given me confidence to ask questions and has built a level of knowledge I would never have achieved in any other way. I now want to continue to build on this. 

What has been your favourite thing about learning online?  

The best thing about learning online has been meeting other students remotely. Many of my fellow students are doctors in a combination of developing and developed  countries round the world. Learning about the issues they face day to day and hearing regularly about how the COVID pandemic was progressing in their home countries has been an invaluable experience.

Since we were already participating in an online programme, all the communications, coursework, and assessments continued to be delivered seamlessly.