Professor Ala Tabor spent nearly two decades working in primary industries with the Queensland Government before making the move into academia at The University of Queensland in 2010.Ala specialises in cattle tick, paralysis ticks (and the diseases they cause) and reproductive diseases in cattle, but when she started at university, Ala didn’t even know parasitology was an option. In this conversation, Ala talks about carving out your own research niche, the importance of building your network of mentors and sponsors, making the transition from government to academia, and the secrets to grant applications (having received more than $12 million in grants for her own research over the past decade).Donate now to support future episodes of Women in Science: www.justgiving.com/campaign/women-in-science-podcastRead more about Ala’s research: https://qaafi.uq.edu.au/profile/492/ala-taborSeason 3 of Women in Science has been made possible with the generous support of Professor Aideen McInerney-Leo.

After studying textile engineering in Iran, Dr Nasim Amiralian decided to move to Australia to pursue a PhD. Nasim now works as a materials scientist with spinifex grass and agricultural waste to produce innovative materials for biodegradable packaging, medical textiles, and other biocomposites. As a Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, Nasim gets to supervise her own research group, guiding the focus of their work.In this conversation, Nasim talks about working closely with Indigenous Australian communities, taking on leadership roles while developing your own career, how we can address plastic pollution and agricultural waste, and working across cultures.Donate now to support future episodes of Women in Science: www.justgiving.com/campaign/women-in-science-podcastRead more about Nasim’s work: https://researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/11106Season 3 of Women in Science has been made possible with the generous support of Professor Aideen McInerney-Leo.

Professor Melissa Brown started her PhD investigating blood cancers at Australia’s oldest medical research institute. Her research then took her to the Imperial Cancer Research and King’s College in London, contributing to the work on BRCA1, a genetic mutation central to understanding and predicting hereditary breast cancer.Melissa’s career has also been bookmarked by leadership roles. She has worked as convenor for higher degree by research students, Deputy Head of School, Head of School, and now Executive Dean for the Faculty of Science at The University of Queensland. And she did all of this while balancing teaching and PhD supervision.In our conversation, Melissa talks about working across countries, managing your time while still taking on opportunities and new challenges, and addresses impostor syndrome in a way you may not have considered before.Recorded on International Women’s Day.Donate now to support future episodes of Women in Science: www.justgiving.com/campaign/women-in-science-podcastRead more about Professor Melissa Brown’s work: www.researchers.uq.edu.au/researcher/937Season 3 of Women in Science has been made possible with the generous support of Professor Aideen McInerney-Leo.

Dr Evelyne Deplazes grew up in a farming family in Switzerland, with no family members ever going to university. At 16, she spent more than six months in hospital, forcing her to redo a year of high school. After six months, Evelyne’s illness relapsed and she was forced to return to hospital. Faced with doing the same year a third time, Evelyne decided to leave high school. Evelyne then went on to complete an apprenticeship as a car electrician and another in the logistics of spare parts, a diploma in business, worked as a technical assistant in engineering, as well time working in a bank. A chance conversation at a dinner led Evelyne to enrol in university in Australia, leading to a career as a computational chemist. Evelyne’s is an extraordinary story of a winding path to success.Learn more about Dr Deplazes' research here: https://scmb.uq.edu.au/profile/1443/evelyne-deplazes

In high school, Dr Ann Damien got the opportunity to attend the National Youth Science Forum. It was the first time she was surrounded by other people genuinely excited and passionate about science. Studying both biotech and business, Ann’s attention turned to taking discoveries from the lab, through translation and commercialisation. After completing an industry-based Honours program, Ann paved the way for other undergraduates to be involved in non-wetlab, industry projects.Ann’s career now takes life-changing and lifesaving healthcare technologies from bench to bedside.Learn more about Dr Damien's work here: https://career-profiles.science.uq.edu.au/ann-damien

In building a successful academic career, it is a common belief you need to work and conduct research internationally – not doing so can have you labelled a risk-avoider and not fully committed. But this is a path not all can, or indeed, want to, take. My guest today is Dr Shyuan Ngo. Shyuan has certainly challenged this assumption as the gold standard of attainment in academia.Completing a PhD in neuroscience, Shyuan received the Bill Gole Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Motor Neurone Disease Research Institute of Australia, was awarded a Queensland Tall Poppy Award, and received the Scott Sullivan MND Research Fellowship in 2015. She is now a Senior Research Fellow and Group Leader at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, and works on understand and developing life-changing therapies for Motor Neuron Disease.Learn more about Dr Ngo's research here: https://aibn.uq.edu.au/profile/3690/shyuan-ngo

As a child, Dr Fernanda Adame saw a National Geographic documentary with people exploring the wilds of Africa. It was at that moment Fernanda knew that that was what she wanted to do with her life. With a degree in biology, a masters in limnology (inland aquatic ecosystems) and oceanography, and a PhD in Marine Science, Fernanda is now an internationally recognised authority on mangrove and wetlands conservation. Speaking passionately about “helicopter research”, she works closely with local communities, NGOs, governments, Traditional Owners and community groups to protect our critically important wetland systems. Learn more about Dr Adame's research: https://experts.griffith.edu.au/8786-fernanda-adame-vivanco

Dr Debra Bernhardt has an extraordinary list of accomplishments in her academic career. Along with a number of Fellowships and Awards, Debra has held research appointments at the University of Basel in Switzerland, the Australian National University, and Griffith University. After spending a number of years teaching and in management roles, Debra made a conscious decision to return her focus to research – a decision that led her to The University of Queensland.In our conversation today, we talk about being the only female among 17 group leaders, the different hats an academic wears in their professional life, and the importance of regularly asking yourself, “Is what I’m doing right now what I want to keep doing?”Learn more about Dr Bernhardt's research here: https://aibn.uq.edu.au/profile/2001/debra-bernhardt

Coming from a regional NSW town with a population of just a few thousand, Associate Professor Karen McNamara is now making a truly global impact. As a child, Karen wrote letters to the Quirindi Advocate newspaper, on topics from animal testing to concerns about the ozone layer. Her mum would drive her to the offices so she could hand-deliver them to the editor. Though they were never published, her passion for the environment and our natural world persisted.Today, Karen’s research is at the crossroads of some truly wicked problems – how livelihoods can be enhanced to respond to the triple crises of poverty, disaster risk and climate change. A development geographer, Karen works with governments, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organisations throughout the Asia-Pacific to build resilient and adaptable communities. But at the heart of this big picture are individuals – real people relying on experts like Karen to build a sustainable future. Karen is passionate about working collaboratively with local communities to give voice and agency to all participants in the research process.Find out more about Karen's research: https://sees.uq.edu.au/profile/9656/karen-mcnamara

New episodes of Women in Science are on the way. In our second season, Doctor Kirsty Short speaks to some incredible researchers, forging their academic careers and making critically important progress in their disciplines.Subscribe to Women in Science wherever you listen to podcasts to be the first to hear new episodes. Women in Science is brought to you by The University of Queensland