What is your current role, and how long have you been in this position?

I became a Research Officer at the Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Disease Research, at La Trobe University, at the start of 2024. However, I also did my PhD here so it feels like a lot longer than that!

What are the main projects you are working on right now?

Overall, my work addresses how adaptive immune cells promote cardiovascular diseases. My group previously showed B cells, our antibody-producing immune cells, are necessary for hypertension development and end-organ damage. My PhD projects identified marginal zone B cells as the primary B cell subtype associated with increases in blood pressure. With support from The CASS Foundation I am now generating marginal zone B cell knockout mice to move beyond associative studies.

Using antibodies uniquely produced by hypertensive mice, I am also working alongside our School of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical sciences to develop an AI-predictive model that can take the amino acid sequence from an antibody and predict what that antibody binds to, so we can identify what activates marginal zone B cells in hypertension. This part of my work is, in addition to The CASS Foundation, also supported by the Australian Centre for AI in Medical Innovation.

Concurrently, I am working on an NHMRC Ideas grant project where I am CIC, which investigates how the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-18 promotes the development of abdominal aortic aneurysms. Here we are investigating the contribution of the different interleukin-18 signalling components to aneurysm development and testing the efficacy of new biologics aimed at stopping or halting disease progression.

How did you get started in your field?

I’ve worked in two different fields so far, both of which fruitioned out of conversations at scientific meetings. I went to a University Research Showcase when I was doing my undergraduate at City St George’s, University of London, where I stopped by one of the posters and somehow convinced the senior researcher to let me spend a month in his lab for free. This work experience turned into a paid studentship and later a Master’s on voltage-gated potassium channels in vascular smooth muscle cells. Fast-forward to when I finished my Master’s and I now have my own poster at an international conference. This is where I met Prof Grant Drummond, who asked if I was interested in doing a PhD with him at La Trobe investigating immune cells in cardiovascular diseases. I knew very little about immune cells, but I’m also not one to shy away from a challenge.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

I like all things DIY and/or craft-related. I knit, crochet, paint, sew and restore random furniture I find interesting. I am very anti-clutter though, so if I make it it needs to have a purpose before I start making it.

Are there any books, podcasts, or shows you’re into at the moment?

My favourite book series of all times, that I still listen to on Audible is ‘The kingkiller chronicles’ by Patrick Rothfuss. I have been waiting ~16 years for the third/final book. Any day now…. I hope.