Learner Profile
Ana Mata

HMX Course

Immunology

Dr. Ana Mata is currently completing a five-year hematology residency at University Hospital in Lisbon, Portugal. She took HMX Fundamentals Immunology to deepen her understanding of key concepts, both to help in caring for her patients and to prepare for future research projects.

Hematology is a very cellular and molecular specialty, and I felt that to become a better doctor, I should really have some more background….sometimes I read papers that are released on immunotherapies or physiopathology of some diseases, and I felt that I did not have the basic knowledge that I should have. Such basic things like different types of T cells and what are dendritic cells; I knew all those names, but I didn’t know where to put them in the immune system. That was my main motivation.

I think it’s very well-organized. It’s organized in a way that makes sense, and [it helps] you start to understand, from the more basic concepts of the immune system to the more complex ones. There were these bits of information that you hear about in one class, and then two classes after that, you hear about it again, but [as part of a] bigger picture. Sometimes you learn one thing or another and you don’t understand where it’s going to make sense, and then two classes ahead, you pull it together. That happened a lot.

I thought both the teachers were wonderful, and they had a very easy way of speaking, so it was very positive. I used to put on the subtitles, so I wouldn’t miss anything. I’m not a native [English] speaker, so it’s important if you have people who speak in a way you understand. I felt they were very good at explaining; it was very straightforward.

I also felt that having quizzes after each video was really good – and the explanations for each answer were a great help, because sometimes you could choose the answer, and either you got it wrong or right, but you could see the explanation. That was very good. Because sometimes I thought I understood it, but reading the explanation, I could understand that there was this detail that I didn’t get, so that was very important for me as well.

I’ve done it already. I have this small group of friends at work and I told everyone that this was a very good opportunity. It’s a lot of money, but I really felt it was one of my most valuable investments in my education. Sometimes we pay for courses and I don’t feel I learned that much, so I think it offered value for the money.