Louise’s story

The ERA short-term fellowship program is an amazing opportunity. It lets you experience a different work environment, make new friends and collaborators, and live abroad for a while. Being in a new place broadens your horizons and opens up new perspectives and opportunities. It’s a fantastic way to grow both personally and professionally.

Absolutely, I think the ERA short-term fellowship is highly relevant and worth mentioning on my professional CV. It is an indisputable honor to receive support from the European Renal Association. The experience of going abroad, facing new challenges, and embracing new experiences demonstrates strong dedication and commitment to growth and improvement, qualities that I consider crucial for advancing in a career.

The ERA short-term fellowship has a significant impact on my career and education. Spending time at the Renal Department at Aarhus University Hospital was incredibly insightful. Scandinavian countries have a strong emphasis on equality and equity, with less hierarchical structures and a strong focus on consensus and teamwork. Experiencing different organizational structures and leaders is meaningful as it helps me to define my own role.
Additionally, discussing transplantation practices with various experts was fascinating, as I learned much about the differences between the Scandiatransplant and Eurotransplant practices but also about existing differences between different transplant centers with regards to for example immunosuppressive therapy. This experience taught me that there are multiple ways to achieve success in the field.

During my short-term fellowship, I participated in the meeting of the Danish Transplant Society. Further, I engaged in activities organized by the Young Aarhus Researchers in Nephrology (YARN) network, a passionate group dedicated to fostering collaboration among researchers in nephrology in Aarhus. It was inspiring to interact with other young fellows from diverse backgrounds such as epidemiology, biostatistics, physiology, pharmacology, immunology, biology, surgery, and medicine, and to learn about and discuss their projects.

In addition to my time in the Nephrology Department, I also had the opportunity to spend time in Infectious Diseases and with the Immunology Department, as well as at the Scandiatransplant headquarters in Aarhus. During my time in the clinics, I got to experience the benefits of digitalization in patient care firsthand. Additionally, I witnessed the essential role well-educated nurses and other healthcare professionals can play, supporting doctors and patients alike.
As I am particularly passionate about the field of transplantation, I thoroughly enjoyed learning about the setup of a well-functioning kidney paired donation program and the recent integration of donation after circulatory death into Danish transplant protocols during my short-term fellowship. Further, I gained insights into machine perfusion techniques and about the current research on therapeutic interventions aimed at optimizing donor organ quality during perfusion. These discussions significantly broadened my perspective on the diverse approaches to transplantation and highlighted areas where improvements are very much needed in my home country.
Finally, I met very many great, bright and motivated people whom I look forward to collaborating with in the future and reconnecting with at upcoming events. I am very thankful to the European Renal Association for providing me with this exceptional opportunity and I want to in particular thank my supervisor Bente Jespersen for welcoming me with such open arms at the Department of Renal Medicine at Aarhus. I would also like to express my gratitude to Martin Zeier and Christian Morath for supporting my leave to participate in this fellowship.