Filipa M. Ferreira, MSc, is a PhD candidate in neuroimmunology in Zurich, Switzerland. She studies the onset and development of multiple sclerosis (MS). Filipa is also involved with the
Young Scientist Network (LSZYSN) of Life Science Zurich, a student organization that brings together life science companies and early career scientists.

Filipa informs early career scientists about the jobs they can find outside academia, about the skills they need to develop, and about opportunities for entrepreneurship during and after the PhD.

In her week at @SfPRocur, Filipa wants to make clear that there’s no such thing as an ‘alternative’ career in science. “A conscious decision to stay in academia is as brave as the decision to leave it.”

background

Filipa finished a bachelor’s degree in Portugal and completed a masters in Neuroscience at the University of Rotterdam in the Netherlands in 2012. She went on to work for a pharmaceutical company before starting her doctoral studies in Zurich in 2016.

She became fascinated by neurodegeneration, especially when it causes severe symptoms like problems with thinking or moving. During the first year of her masters, Filipa read many papers that suggested a link between the immune system and neurodegeneration. So, she decided to study that. In her PhD work, she studies MS from an immune system point of view, hoping that she will eventually be able to apply her knowledge to the brain as well.