Women in Science

Dr Meagan Carney works with chaos and extremes. As a mathematician, Meagan specialises in using machine learning to predict rare events — from hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico to temperature extremes in Germany and Texas, all the way to bacterial infections in patients with COVID-19.At the heart of Meagan’s work is using mathematics and machine learning to make informed decisions, and navigate our...

Hemanshi Galaiya is a PhD student by day and a trailblazing entrepreneur by night. In this episode, Kirsty chats with Hemanshi about her inspiring journey from her childhood in Kenya to founding a transformative STEM education initiative, Young Stripes, to address educational inequities. Hemanshi shares stories from her early life, where a lack of resources fueled her creativity and love for scien...

Associate Professor Marnee Shay is a researcher in Education, specializing in Indigenous education, policy studies, flexi schooling and youth studies. Today, she reflects on her own experience in the Australian education system and the pivotal moments that led her from youth work to academia. Marnee and Kirsty also talk about non-conventional approaches to data collection, preserving Indigenous la...

Professor Alison Van Eenennaam works in co-operative extension, translating agricultural research into education and practical action. Alison grew up in Melbourne, Australia, but was working in California when the Flavr Saver tomato became the first commercially grown GMO food to be approved for human consumption. She quickly found herself immersed in the world of biotechnology and agricultural sc...

In this bite-sized episode of Women in Science, Professor Mary Garson tells us about starting the Global Women’s Breakfast. Mary talks about the event’s humble beginning in 2009, bringing together women in chemistry from all around the world. In 2024, the breakfast will be held across more than 350 events in 70 countries. Mary was one of Women in Science’s first guests in season one – you can hear...

Associate Professor Jessica Mar is a computational biologist, using statistics and computers to solve questions about big data in biology. Jessica started out with a science degree at UQ, before moving on to the UK as a research assistant with the Human Genome Project. She then moved from the United Kingdom to the United States, completing her PhD at Harvard University. Next came the Albert Einste...

Dr Natalie Collins has always loved sport and exercise. It was in high school that science and physical education came together to form her passion for the human side of biology, evolving into a career in physiotherapy. These days, Natalie specialises in sports physiotherapy and research into knee pain across the lifespan. Her research examines the relationship between knee pain in early life and...

Professor Sarah Robertson’s work unravels the mysteries of the immune system's role in reproductive health. Sarah charts her journey in science from stargazing as a child before exploring chemistry and physics, moving into biochemistry and immunology for her career. In this episode, Sarah and Kirsty talk about the science of being a parent, and being a parent working in science. Read more abo...

A case of lupus in her childhood was the catalyst of Professor Joanne Blanchfield’s career in science. It was Joanne’s doctors who guided her away from a career in medicine, and towards one in research. Through her career, Joanne has worked with Indigenous Australian communities on investigating the chemistry of natural medicines, taken on a number of post-doctoral positions, including Johns Hopki...

Dr Aideen McInerney-Leo always had a curiosity about science, and it was a babysitting gig in her teenage years that opened up the world of genetics. While studying her undergraduate in London, Aideen went for a walk past one of the world’s leading children’s hospital. A cold call to the hospital switchboard and a letter to the head of clinical genetics department led to an incredible career that...

Professor Ala Tabor spent nearly two decades working in primary industries with the Queensland Government before making the move into academia at The University of Queensland in 2010.Ala specialises in cattle tick, paralysis ticks (and the diseases they cause) and reproductive diseases in cattle, but when she started at university, Ala didn’t even know parasitology was an option. In this conversat...

After studying textile engineering in Iran, Dr Nasim Amiralian decided to move to Australia to pursue a PhD. Nasim now works as a materials scientist with spinifex grass and agricultural waste to produce innovative materials for biodegradable packaging, medical textiles, and other biocomposites. As a Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Nasim gets to supe...

Professor Melissa Brown started her PhD investigating blood cancers at Australia’s oldest medical research institute. Her research then took her to the Imperial Cancer Research and King’s College in London, contributing to the work on BRCA1, a genetic mutation central to understanding and predicting hereditary breast cancer. Melissa’s career has also been bookmarked by leadership roles. She has wo...

Dr Evelyne Deplazes grew up in a farming family in Switzerland, with no family members ever going to university. At 16, she spent more than six months in hospital, forcing her to redo a year of high school. After six months, Evelyne’s illness relapsed and she was forced to return to hospital. Faced with doing the same year a third time, Evelyne decided to leave high school. Evelyne then went on to...

In high school, Dr Ann Damien got the opportunity to attend the National Youth Science Forum. It was the first time she was surrounded by other people genuinely excited and passionate about science. Studying both biotech and business, Ann’s attention turned to taking discoveries from the lab, through translation and commercialisation. After completing an industry-based Honours program, Ann paved t...

In building a successful academic career, it is a common belief you need to work and conduct research internationally – not doing so can have you labelled a risk-avoider and not fully committed. But this is a path not all can, or indeed, want to, take. My guest today is Dr Shyuan Ngo. Shyuan has certainly challenged this assumption as the gold standard of attainment in academia. Completing a PhD i...

As a child, Dr Fernanda Adame saw a National Geographic documentary with people exploring the wilds of Africa. It was at that moment Fernanda knew that that was what she wanted to do with her life. With a degree in biology, a masters in limnology (inland aquatic ecosystems) and oceanography, and a PhD in Marine Science, Fernanda is now an internationally recognised authority on mangrove and wetlan...

Dr Debra Bernhardt has an extraordinary list of accomplishments in her academic career. Along with a number of Fellowships and Awards, Debra has held research appointments at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the Australian National University, and Griffith University. After spending a number of years teaching and in management roles, Debra made a conscious decision to return her focus to re...

Coming from a regional NSW town with a population of just a few thousand, Associate Professor Karen McNamara is now making a truly global impact. As a child, Karen wrote letters to the Quirindi Advocate newspaper, on topics from animal testing to concerns about the ozone layer. Her mum would drive her to the offices so she could hand-deliver them to the editor. Though they were never published, he...

New episodes of Women in Science are on the way. In our second season, Doctor Kirsty Short speaks to some incredible researchers, forging their academic careers and making critically important progress in their disciplines. Subscribe to Women in Science wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. Women in Science is brought to you by The University of Queensland

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short talks to Professor Avril Robertson. Prof Robertson is a Professor in Biotechnology in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at The University of Queensland. She completed a commercially focused degree and PhD in bio-organic chemistry at the University of St Andrews, Scotland in 2000. She also has qualifications in both secondary and tertiary teaching. A...

In this episode of Women in Science, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Peta Ashworth. Professor Peta Ashworth OAM is the Director of the Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership, and Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures at The University of Queensland (UQ). Professor Ashworth brings over thirty years’ experience working in a range of senior management, consulting and research roles...

In this episode of Women in Science, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Linda Lua. Professor Linda Lua, founding director of the UQ Protein Expression Facility(PEF), leads a team of Research Specialists, producing high-quality synthetic proteins to enable and support discovery and translational research. She is internationally recognised for her research-enabling technologies to produce products...

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Sandie Degnan, from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland. Animals evolve because their genomes need to respond to the constantly changing environment presented by both their external habitat and their internal microbial symbionts. Over evolutionary time, these different factors interact during development, when the a...

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop AO FAA. Prof Rubinsztein-Dunlop is a professor of physics at the University of Queensland and an Officer of the Order of Australia. She has led pioneering research in atom optics, biophysics and quantum physics, was one of the originators of the widely used laser enhanced ionisation spectroscopy technique and is well kn...