The travel support that I received from AEA, assisted my trip to Cambridge University, UK where I spent a month as a Policy Analyst Intern in the Science Division at the Public Health Genomics (PHG) Foundation. During my placement at the PHG Foundation, I conducted research related to Breast Cancer Stratification (B-Cast) which is a multicentre European project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research grant.
As an early career researcher, I was very fortunate to receive an AEA Early Career Travel Award late last year, which enabled me to attend the annual Schizophrenia International Research Society conference which was held in Orlando Florida, USA in April 2019. This meeting is attended by many highly recognised schizophrenia researchers from around the world and as a researcher based in Perth attending this conference provides an opportunity to hear about new and often yet to be published psychosis research.
Dr. Andrea Parisi, the Australian National University
I was very fortunate to receive the AEA Early Career Travel Award which allowed me to travel to Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU) in Vietnam for a period of three months (July – September 2018) and collaborate on a study investigating possible sources of antimicrobial resistance in humans. In this project, we analysed antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolated from animals and humans, and conducted a molecular analysis of NTS isolates studying the distribution of the main antimicrobial resistance gene groups. The outcomes of the project will be soon submitted to a peer-reviewed journal as well as form a part of my thesis.
In addition, this visit has allowed me to perform some basic laboratory work following BSL2 laboratory induction training as well as take part in the activities occurring at OUCRU including several workshops and academic meetings. Overall, it was a great professional and personal experience which substantially contributed to the completion of my PhD and I believe that it was the commencement of a long-term collaboration between our institutions.
At OUCRU Colleague Day
Dr Deirdre Collins, School of Medical and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, WA
I am a Postdoctoral Research Fellow working in the field of infectious disease epidemiology. My postdoctoral research is building on the findings of my PhD on the epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection. I combine state-of-the-art molecular epidemiological data with analysis of demographic and clinical data to understand, from a One Health perspective, how C. difficile is transmitted between people, animals and the environment, and how many hospital-associated infections may actually be attributable to contamination of the exterior environments of hospitals.
The AEA Early Career Research Travel Award allowed me to travel to the beautiful town of Bled in Slovenia to present on my research at the 6th International Clostridium difficile Symposium (ICDS). It was a fantastic experience which allowed me to catch up with international collaborators, thank my PhD examiners in person, and learn about the latest developments and lively debates on diagnosis, management and surveillance of C. difficile infection, all with the beautiful backdrop of Lake Bled and its castle.
After ICDS I attended a short course in “Infectious Disease ‘Omics” at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Over a few days I dramatically increased my skills in working with genomic data and analysing genotypic characteristics of pathogens including C. difficile. It was a pleasure to mingle with the other students of the course who had a diverse array of backgrounds and expertise, which inspired me to analyse my data from new perspectives. It was an invaluable experience and I’m very grateful to the AEA for making it possible.
