Bruno Lima Rodrigues is currently a PhD student of the Post Graduate Program in Surgical Sciences at the School of Medical Sciences (SMS) – Unicamp, and he began his International PhD internship, also named "Sandwich PhD", on October 1st, 2019. He will spend six months in Barcelona at the Laboratory coordinated by Prof. Azucena Salas, located in the Esther Koplowitz Center, Institute of Biomedical Research August Pi y Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Spain. He is carrying out complementary experiments that will greatly contribute to the quality of his PhD thesis by using techniques such as in situ hybridization. Bruno's project deals with "Evaluation of endoplasmic reticulum stress in the intestinal mucosa of Crohn's disease patients", under the supervision of Prof. Raquel Franco Leal from SMS - Unicamp. His scholarship is being financed by the CAPES PrInt program, on the Genomic, Metabolomics and Proteomics theme, within the “Biomarkers in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases” project coordinated by Raquel and Azucena.

According to Bruno, “working and studying overseas has been an incredible opportunity for my career and personal life. While the idea of leaving friends and family to live in a country with a different language is initially terrifying, getting to know new people and a new culture is very gratifying and has given me a new perspective on my country and the world. At the institute where I currently work, I have learned new techniques and mastered methods I already knew. I also participate in lab meetings where I am able to communicate with experts in my field. This sharing of knowledge has opened my mind to many different ways of thinking about my research and this field as a whole. Although working in biomedical research can be overwhelming at times, working with people who are caring and become your friends gives you the necessary support to persevere. This is definitely one of the best experiences I have ever participated in."

Bruno has already had the opportunity to participate in the 27th United European Gastroenterology Week (UEGW), which took place in Barcelona from October 19 to 23, 2019, with a poster presentation of his research.