I am a medical researcher with more than 25 years' experience in scientific writing, research governance, ethics, data integrity and methodological rigour across medical science, preclinical research and health systems. 

I graduated with an MB BS from the Faculty of Medicine, University of Sydney. After becoming interested in research during a vacation project, I began a PhD in cancer biology at the Kolling Institute, University of Sydney, and worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Children's Medical Research Institute (CMRI). I have also worked for more than ten years as a scientific writer, with a particular focus on ethics applications, grant writing and policy documents.

My research career has mostly focused on cell lines that are grown in the lab as research models. As a PhD student I struggled - like many students - to stop my cells from getting contaminated. Cell culture was incredibly frustrating but also fascinating, and I was hooked. I took every opportunity to do cell culture and eventually became Facility Manager at CellBank Australia, a cell line repository located at Westmead. This was a fantastic opportunity to learn about good cell culture practice. But I also became fascinated by the fact that many cell lines are not good models because they are misidentified. You might think you are working with a human cell line, but actually your cell line comes from a mouse instead! I and some other colleagues set up the International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC) and established a Register of Misidentified Cell Lines to raise awareness.

I am also interested in diversity, having slowly come to the realisation that cell lines and other preclinical models come from a very narrow slice of the population. Diversity needs to be addressed at all levels, including what's on the lab bench, but if we are to develop effective treatments we have to go beyond the lab and work directly with the community.

I now have a role with the Co-Design Health Research and Innovation (CHRI) team, which is part of the Academic Programs at Nura Gili. The CHRI team partners with priority populations across Australia, co-designing community-led solutions to tackle health inequities. My role in the CHRI team includes looking after our ethics applications and grant reporting. I am actively involved in the team's research projects from inception to completion.