There is no clear career path in science. That was what Tiago Branco was told when trying to decide what degree to pursue, so he opted for the physician’s life and attended the University of Lisbon Medical School in his native Portugal. He still did science on the side, though, volunteering in labs in his free time. It was in the lab of developmental biologist Domingos Henrique, where he worked for most of his 6 years of medical school, that Branco got a taste for neuroscience.
METHODS: After completing his medical degree, Branco decided to pursue neuroscience whole hog and applied to the highly competitive, 4-year PhD program at University College London (UCL). Branco’s program mentor, physiologist David Attwell, says he recruited Branco for the young student’s deep interest in neuroscience, despite his comparative lack of experience. The gamble paid off. “Tiago’s first two papers were in Nature Neuroscience and ...
