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

I’m a postdoctoral researcher in the Cardiac Drug Discovery Laboratory at QIMR Berghofer, led by Associate Professor Simon Foster. I’m now in my fourth year as a postdoc, focusing on cardiovascular disease research.

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

I’m currently working on two main projects focused on cardiac fibrosis and sepsis-induced cardiac dysfunction, alongside several collaborative projects. Across all of this work, I use and develop advanced proteomics approaches to better understand the protein changes that drive disease and identify new therapeutic targets.

What skills or strengths do you feel define your work?

One of the strengths of my work is using mass spectrometry to take an unbiased, systems-level view of disease, which often reveals unexpected biology. The real challenge is figuring out whether those molecular changes are causing disease or are the body’s attempt to compensate; an important distinction when you’re searching for new drug targets.

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

I’m unapologetically a horror fan. I recently finished the latest season of From, I’m halfway through a re-read of Stephen King’s Nightmares & Dreamscapes, and I’m loving the recent resurgence of horror films. When I run out of those, YouTube has no shortage of short horror stories to keep me suitably unsettled.

Do you have a favourite travel destination or a place you’d like to visit next?

Korea or Japan. Their food is the biggest draw for me, although I’m sure I’d come home with plenty of other reasons to go back.