Tom O'Toole-Mills:
Can you briefly introduce yourself? So tell us who you are and what you study and anything else you think will be relevant?

Luke Wheeler:
So I'm Luke. I studied biochemistry and I'm in my final year. And I've been a publisher [author] with the Essex Student Journals since my second year. I've published two articles, one called Why Is Cancer So Hard to Cure?
And another based on Huntington's Disorder. 

Tom:
Wonderful. So how did you find out about the Essex Student Journal? 

Luke:
I quite literally ran into you guys. There was a library fair on the ground floor of the library, and I just happened to walk past the journal's stall there, and it was really, really interesting. So I picked up a leaflet, went home and made an account and submitted some previous essays that I'd written.

Tom:
Wonderful. And so can you tell us a bit more about your experience with the Journal for the last year or so?

Luke:
So besides submitting two articles to the Journal, I also got to apply and be a Frontrunner with the Journal. So I got to take part in copy editing and looking into the behind the scenes of the journal, as well as putting together the conference, interviewing students on the squares, gathering marketing materials. So one which has been a real big highlight of my year.

Tom:
So what sort of things have you feel you've learnt from your experience of the journal, either publishing or as your Frontrunner role?

Luke:
So they've both really helped with directing the sort of careers I'd like to go into once I graduate? The whole idea of working in journalism is really, really interesting. So I would like to explore that. Perhaps even going into scientific writing or even just public awareness is really, really interesting. And some of the skills that I got are very transferable. So interviewing students on the squares. Copyediting, which is proofreading in a way and even just grammar, it's really helps me with the rest of my coursework, which has in turn helped with my submissions.

Tom: 
Wonderful. Yeah. Let's talk about the articles that you've had published then, and so can you tell us a bit more about them? Which ones were they? And kind of what did you think was important about those topics?

Luke:
Well, so my first article was Why is Cancer so Hard to Cure? And it's names similarly to a TedEd video I watched in year 10, which was my main motivation for going into cancer study and biochemistry. So it covered topics such as the fact that cancer is not just one disease, it's over 100 or down to certain topics like heterogeneity. So how cancer cells differ between each other, as well as across different organisms. How they can produce up clones that have different treatment resistances and whatnot, which just makes it really difficult to just have one single cure. It's a very complicated illness. 

Tom:
I think you mentioned the other one was Huntington's. Tell us a bit more about that. 

Luke:
Yeah. So I wrote an essay on Huntington's disorder and sort of analysing what it is, how it sort of starts, as well as the current research being done on it. So Huntington's is essentially very similar to Alzheimer's in a way. It's to do with a specific gene that sort of grows in length as it's passed from parents to child simply through mutations. And when it gets too long and it gets transcribed and made into a protein, it can break apart and aggregates, making big balls and sticks in the neurones, which impairs their function and eventually kills them, which is what leads to all of the symptoms of dementia, dysplasia,and so on. And in terms of the current research, for Huntington's disorder specifically one of the most recent pieces of research was that they had invented a number scale for the severity and progression of the illness, much like how cancer has its own staging system. 

Tom:
Wonderful. Thank you for that insight. And before we wrap up, is there anything else you'd like to share or to add either about your publication's previous experience or anything else you'd like to talk about?

Luke:
Yeah, so I will be doing a masters in cancer biology next year. And one of the things I'd really like to do on the side is to produce an updated version of my first article Why is Cancer so Hard to Cure? Sort of bringing in all of the knowledge that I've learnt because that essay was made in my first year. So I'd like to tie it all together with all of the knowledge I'd learn in my master's course.

Tom:
That sounds fantastic is entirely what research is all about is iterating and building on what we already have. So thank you, Luke. That's really great to hear from you. All the best for the future and your masters.

Luke:
Thank you.