My PhD interrogated how and why cells die, specifically focusing on the activation of caspase-8 and the consequences of its activation. My studies utilized gold-standard animal models of inflammatory disease and CRISPR/Cas9 technology to dissect new cell death pathways, and coupled these technologies with cutting edge cell biology, biochemistry and bioinformatic techniques to uncover new tricks for 'old dogs'. In March 2022, part of my PhD work was published in Immunity.I have had the opportunity to work with the leading cell death and ubiquitin signaling experts, and collaborated with the Monash Instititue of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hudson Institute of Medical Research, the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute and the CECAD in Cologne. During my PhD, I have engaged with philanthropic investors to garner interest in the ground-breaking work performed at WEHI. I have mentored new Honours students and supervised students in the honours-equivalent INSPIRE program (https://www.wehi.edu.au/inspire), some of whom received top marks and have returned to complete their PhD studies. I have also taken action on the reconciliation committee at WEHI to further the outreach and engagement with students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander heritage, where I mentored students partaking an internship via the Careertrackers program (https://www.careertrackers.org.au/).

During this research period, I worked collaboratively on a project investigating the role of the pore-forming, pro-inflammatory protein GSDMD in inflammatory disease. I performed a number of biochemical techniques (western blot, q-PCR) to show that cell death and inflammation can occur upon inflammasome activation, even in the absence GSDMD!

Co-supervised by A/Prof James Vince and Dr Rebecca Feltham, I joined WEHI investigating the function of pro-survival E3 ubiqutin ligases and their function in cancer and inflammatory disease. Here I piloted studies on tag-targeting protein degraders (tTPDs), a proof-of-concept biological system to study protein degrader (PROTAC) technology. This work was published in early 2022.

The Australasian Cell Death Society is the first society to network cell death researches in Australia. As part of the ACDS, I have had the opportunity to facilitate networking with like-minded researchers with monthly seminars, newsletters and workshops. The communications and marketing role I manage specifically encompasses website management, branding and marketing of the society on social media (Twitter) and with promotional merchandise.

Invited by the University of Melbourne, I had the opportunity to mentor under-represented students focusing on undergraduate to post-graduate career progression. During the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, these meetings were essential in connecting students in lock-down with industry professionals to share experiences that would inform their future career decisions.