And the end of last semester, one of our Australian Science & Mathematics School (ASMS) students Amy completed a week of work experience at the Flinders University Health & Medical Research Institute (FHMRI), in the Innovation in Cancer unit.
A special thank you to Kylie Eggers and Kay Gillet from the ASMS and to the team leader and Medical Scientist from Flinders, Associate Professor Erin Symonds for facilitating Amy’s experience.
This is what Amy had to say about her time at FHMRI:
The best part of my week was the ability to experience and learn about a variety of different areas of medical research from experts in their field. Within this opportunity I was able to get hands-on and perform an ELISA and Bradford assay, process samples for the SCOOP program to detect colorectal cancers, and perform a gel electrophoresis to determine the efficacy of a researcher’s method. I was also able to discuss health economics, clinical trial research, optogenetics, flow cytometry, mass spectrometry and a plethora of other research techniques and tools with a range of scientists, nurses, and clinicians.
Being able to observe and experience medical research first-hand has really inspired me to continue to invest in my passion for molecular biology. I have already began implementing this learning into my central studies including CoDesign to deepen my understanding of the concepts I learnt about. Seeing the passion and enthusiasm of the researchers I met enforced my career choice of an area of scientific research, and I am excited to continue my journey into this area!
Amy