Bio

I began my journey in science out of a deep desire to improve the lives of people regardless of their material conditions. Medical science is the study of disease to improve the lives of those afflicted. Disease can affect us all and as such is a true equaliser.

My research interests include cancer, endometriosis, and the immune system. The two mentioned diseases both rely in part on the immune system for their proliferation and development. The immune system, being the body's defence against all things out to hurt it, is complex and like all complex systems is prone to disorder. The immune system can also be harnessed and used as a weapon against disease.

I want my work to be truly meaningful, both to those who may be afflicted by a disease and to myself. To my knowledge, endometriosis is not a disease myself or anyone in my family has had any experience with. Despite this, the disease has fascinated me from the moment I learnt of it. How can something used to create life, under certain conditions cause so much harm? Cancer too is an enigma. Your demise is born from the very cells that support your growth and development. My goal in life is to leave this world in a better place than when I entered it, and I believe medical science and by extension the study of disease to be the key to that goal.

Health and fitness are very important to me. I'm a keen cyclist for sport, health, and commuting. Cycling is an intergenerational sport, my grandad (Tjilpi), who is in his 80s, still rides a minimum of 120 kms per week. The photo above is of myself, my younger brother, auntie, mum, and Tjilpi after completing "The Hills" circuit one frosty morning in Alice Springs.

Like many of my ilk, hiking is also a large part of my life. In my mind there's nothing better than setting off along a trail where you don't know what's around the next corner but you know it's going to be beautiful. I have completed several trails around Tasmania, if you're reading this and we meet later ask me about the time I walked the overland twice in seven days, it's a very silly story.

I love taking photos, especially of landscapes and my friends. I've got albums upon albums of photos I've taken over the years, some of which I'm very proud of. There's just something so special about seeing something and then being able to see that thing forever over and over, photographs are a truly special thing.

Finally, I love writing. Typically I have written non-fiction articles for the University of Adelaide student magazine "On Dit". These have been on a myriad of topics and can be found on my home page. Recently I have delved into the fiction space and am currently working on a project I hope one day to be published.