Women in Science

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

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short talks to Professor Avril Robertson.Prof Robertson is a Professor in Biotechnology in the School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences at The University of Queensland.She completed a commercially focused degree and PhD in bio-organic chemistry at the University of St Andrews, Scotland in 2000. She also has qualifications in both secondary and tertiary teaching. Avril had a successful 10 years in the UK biotechnology and drug discovery industry before moving to The University of Queensland as Head of Medicinal Chemistry in the Center for Drug Design and Discovery in 2011.In 2017, she progressed to full Professor and Director of Biotechnology and also sits on the Board of Directors of the National Professional Science Masters Association in the USA.

In this episode of Women in Science, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Peta Ashworth.Professor Peta Ashworth OAM is the Director of the Andrew N. Liveris Academy for Innovation and Leadership, and Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures at The University of Queensland (UQ). Professor Ashworth brings over thirty years’ experience working in a range of senior management, consulting and research roles. Prior to joining UQ in 2016, Peta worked as a consultant to industry, as Research Group Leader at CSIRO, and in senior executive roles for the Body Shop.In addition to her role as the Director of the Liveris Academy, Professor Ashworth is also the Chair in Sustainable Energy Futures. In this capacity, Professor Ashworth provides strategy, thought leadership and engagement associated with the complex technical, economic, social and policy challenges and opportunities as the world transitions to a more sustainable energy future.

In this episode of Women in Science, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Linda Lua.Professor Linda Lua, founding director of the UQ Protein Expression Facility(PEF), leads a team of Research Specialists, producing high-quality synthetic proteins to enable and support discovery and translational research. She is internationally recognised for her research-enabling technologies to produce products that range from simple biomolecules to complex biomolecular assemblies such as multi-protein virus-like particles. Applying her expertise, she researches into vaccine technology to address vaccine manufacturing challenges which translated into patented technology platforms. Prof. Lua has initiated and led significant industry engagements, both nationally and internationally. Her project management portfolio also includes projects from 19 Universities across Australia as well as public and private research institutes.Prof. Lua’s vision and leadership has established PEF as the leading protein production facility in Australia.

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Sandie Degnan, from the School of Biological Sciences at The University of Queensland.Animals evolve because their genomes need to respond to the constantly changing environment presented by both their external habitat and their internal microbial symbionts. Over evolutionary time, these different factors interact during development, when the animal body plan is being established, to generate the extraordinary animal diversity that graces our planet. In ecological time, early life history stages must detect and respond to the precise nature of their environment to generate a locally-adapted functional phenotype.Using coral reef invertebrates from phyla that span the animal kingdom, Prof Degnan and her colleagues study these gene-environment interactions using genomic, molecular and cellular approaches combined with behavioural ecology in natural populations. They work mostly with embryonic and larval life history stages of indirect developers, as these are crucial to the survival, connectivity, and evolution of marine populations. When not immersed in the molecular or computer lab, they are lucky enough to be immersed in the ocean, often in beautiful places!

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Halina Rubinsztein-Dunlop AO FAA. Prof Rubinsztein-Dunlop is a professor of physics at the University of Queensland and an Officer of the Order of Australia. She has led pioneering research in atom optics, biophysics and quantum physics, was one of the originators of the widely used laser enhanced ionisation spectroscopy technique and is well known for her recent work in laser micromanipulation.

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Melissa Fitzgerald. Prof Fitzgerald is the Deputy Associate Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Science at The University of Queensland.

In this episode, Dr Kirsty Short speaks to Professor Jenny Seddon. Professor Seddon is a veterinarian and a molecular geneticist and has an established and international reputation in using genetic tools to address ecological questions in support of the conservation of wildlife.She is the Associate Dean(Research)& Deputy Executive Dean of the Faculty of Science at The University of Queensland.