Hayley Sherry Email & Phone Number

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Australia

Australia

Australia

As an undergraduate student, I completed an Advanced Research Project. This project aimed to characterise the response of recently isolated clinical strains of Mycobacterium avium and the capacity of macrophages to control these organisms. As a research group, we also tested the effect of a range of antibiotics in controlling the growth of these pathogens. To obtain results, I conducted bacterial preparation, antibiotic preparation, resazurin assays, MIC and synergy assays, macrophage preparation, CBA assays, and flow cytometry. We found that the antibiotics rifampicin and D-cycloserine were effective in controlling the growth of non-tuberculosis Mycobacteria (NTM) strains. However, further toxicity studies should be performed to ensure the safety of these antibiotics when used in vivo. We also found a potential synergistic pathway between colistin and INH at controlling NTM growth.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

As a part-time employee, I was delighted to continue working with BDC as I studied. I continued working with the Quality and Risk team but finished working with the Clinical team at this time. One of the main skills I improved was my flexibility. After the unexpected departure of a team member, I partially assumed their role. My duties were handling incidents and complaints, and importantly communicating with stakeholders regarding BDC's ongoing COVID-19 response. In late March, I transitioned into working from home and successfully overcame the challenges related to this.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

I had the amazing opportunity to work with the team at Bupa Dental Corporation (BDC) as an intern for the Quality and Risk team. During my time as an intern, I developed my professionalism and learnt skills such as cross-functional team collaboration, risk analysis, and data management. These skills were gained through the completion of risk assessments, stakeholder liaison, data entry, and compliance tasks. Simultaneously, I worked with the Clinical team by auditing BDC practices and providing infection control training. I also had the wondrous pleasure of travelling nationwide for skill development training and clinical auditing assignments. One of the biggest highlights was learning more about myself through my DISC profile and completing externally-facilitated DISC-based training. I was excited to continue working with the BDC team and was offered a part-time fixed-term contract, which enabled me to study and work conhesively.

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

The study of spore formation in Bacillus subtilis for over 50 years has allowed for this morphological process to be one of the most well-characterised developmental pathways in biology. Using bioinformatics, I screened 162 Bacillus subtilis sporulation genes that are involved in several stages of sporulation. From these genes, I identified 20 significant but previously uncharacterized genes. We transformed these genes so they conferred antibiotic resistance. Then visualised the genes under an electron microscope. Ultimately, this study aimed to characterise the function of these Bacillus subtilis genes during sporulation. Under the mentorship of microbiologist, Dr Christopher Rodrigues, I gained skills in performing bioinformatic analysis, gene selection, primer design, clinical WHS, Bacillus Chromosomal DNA preparation, polymerase chain reactions (PCR), gel electrophoresis, DNA transformation, electron microscopy, and other general laboratory-based skills.

After high school, I was honoured to assist a HSC student through his Mathematics subject for the year. When approached, the student was failing this class but after rigorous tutoring sessions they achieved a band 5 in the subject. What a great achievement!I also enjoyed tutoring students at a primary school level. This aimed to improve both their literacy and numeracy levels.

Advanced Science, Infection And Immunity

Activities and Societies: Credo 'PLUS Events' - Team Leader

Higher School Certificate

Activities and Societies: Peer Mentor