From classroom to clinic - Careers in STEM for a healthier future

This final "Shape Your Future" session for 2024 features a panel of experts and emerging leaders exploring the vast and diverse world of health technology. From designing personalised cancer treatments and uncovering global health interventions to using AI to analyse mental health on social media, the guests discuss how curiosity and a commitment to health equity can lead to impactful, international careers.

Host: Tamara McGregor (IMNIS Coordinator at ATSE)

Moderator: Adjunct Professor Craig Rayner FTSE (Director of Translational Medicine at Moderna)

Guests:

• Dr Katherine Morgan – Postdoctoral Researcher, Bio21 Molecular Science & Biotechnology Institute
• Jemima Kang – PhD Candidate in Computing & Information Systems, University of Melbourne & Elevate Scholar

Key Discussion Points

1. Opportunities and non-linear career paths

• Craig [06:43]
• Katherine [14:35]
• Jemima [19:18]

2. Breaking the "swim lane" mentality

• The importance of bridging across academia, industry and government to solve intractable health problems [08:51].
• Real-world success stories including developing treatments for river blindness, influenza in infants, and COVID-19 interventions [10:38].

3. Innovation in the lab & digital space

• Work designing "molecular cages" that trap radioactive metals to deliver targeted therapy to hard-to-treat cancers [13:56].
• Using machine learning to analyse mental health discourse on social media [22:10]
• Prostate cancer research with the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre [25:05] – https://www.petermac.org.

4. Advice for students & future leaders [27:34]

• Content knowledge is less important than learning how to methodically solve problems.
• Asking for advice may lead to a job, asking for a job may lead to advice.
• The value of volunteering and internships to discover what exists beyond traditional career roles.

Notable Quotes

"I wanted to be the person on the blocks at the side of the pool who wanted to swim across all of the swim lanes... the largest problems cannot be defeated by focusing only on one." — Adjunct Professor Craig Rayner

"In science, the content is not as important as learning to be a problem solver. A career in STEM pretty much boils down to solving problems." — Dr Katherine Morgan

"Practice makes progress. Curiosity should guide you to do hard things because that’s where you find out what you’re made of." — Jemima Kang

Useful Links

• STELR Program (www.stelr.org.au): ATSE’s national STEM education initiative for schools
• Elevate Scholarship (atse.org.au/elevate): A university scholarship supporting women in STEM.
• IMNIS Program (www.imnis.org.au): An industry mentoring network for PhD students.
• Bio21 Institute: Where Dr. Katherine Morgan conducts molecular research – bio21.unimelb.edu.au
• Royal Flying Doctor Service (RFDS): Mentioned by Craig as a pivotal career experience – flyingdoctor.org.au

Watch the full video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeBudBNzTCM