Post on 01-Apr-2015
Dr. Alice Rumbold
Senior Research FellowThe University of Adelaide
Adelaide born and bred
Full time health science researcher
32 years old
When in high school.... no idea about what I wanted to do!
About me
How did I get here?
1995
Finished High School
Bachelor of Science
Honours Travel PhD Postdoctoral research
Research Fellow
‘96-98 1999 2000 ’01-05 ‘05-08 2009 -
MusicMaths Physics
ChemistryHistory
BiologyAnatomy
PsychologyBiological
Anthropology
Reproductive health
Reproductive health
Indigenous women’s
health
Women’s & children’s
health
Studied science...didn’t want to narrow my field too early..
General science degree was a good choice for me because it is broad - can open up a range of career pathways– Research, teaching, industries like agriculture, defence, food
technology and pharmaceuticals.
Why?
Spent one year doing a research project (because the real world was too scary!)
During this project I realised... – There is so much we don’t know about health and how the body works and
why disease occurs– So much opportunity for new discoveries in science
Knowing that these opportunities for new discovery exist continues to drive me to do research today and in the future
Opportunity to make a real difference to individuals and communities
Why?
Looking at patterns of health problems in a population
AND
Using this information to help control the health problem
Involves elements of medicine/health, biology, maths, environmental studies
The ‘science of people’
What my research involves
Why are certain cancers much higher amongst Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory compared with other Australian women?
Can we improve the care Aboriginal women receive when they are pregnant?
Does a woman’s diet during pregnancy ‘program’ the health of her child (in childhood and adulthood)
Research questions
Why are certain cancers much higher amongst Aboriginal women in the Northern Territory compared with other Australian women?
Can we improve the care Aboriginal women receive when they are pregnant?
Does a woman’s diet during pregnancy ‘program’ the health of her child (in childhood and adulthood)
Research questions
Reports from doctors working in the NT that they were seeing lots of Aboriginal women with gynaecological cancers, including some of the rarer types of cancers
Most of the women diagnosed appeared to live in a certain area on the north-east coast of the NT
Do these cancers occur more often in Aboriginal women living in these areas, and if so, why?
Background
Collect of records (notifications) of cancer in the NT
Examine the rate of cancer based on geographic region and ethnicity
Are the rates the same as the rate in the total Australian population?
Step 1
Rate (amount) of cancer by region in the NTpe
r 100
,000
Rate (amount) of cancer by region in the NTpe
r 100
,000
Identified a cancer cluster
Some gynaecological cancer is caused by infection with a common virus known as human papillomavirus (HPV), so.....
Is there more HPV infection amongst women living in the area where there is a high rate of cancer?
Why?
Step 2.What this kind of research involves
Fieldwork
Fieldwork
Team work – local, national & international
Collecting and analysing biological samples in a laboratory to identify the presence of infections such as human papillomavirus
Examining women and checking health records
Use maths to determine if the amount of infection found is more or less common than what is seen in the Australian population overall
Apply this knowledge to determine whether: – Infection is the primary cause of this cluster, and whether
the HPV vaccine will prevent the cancer in future generations
– Or the high rates are caused by something else, for
example, something in the environment
Analysing Information
Many health problems don’t affect all groups of people equally.... so, by determining which groups of people are more or less affected by a disease we can identify clues to its causes
Monitor trends in diseases
Determine priorities
Identify emerging health issues
Why study patterns of disease?
Mapping the swine flu (H1N1) epidemic
Where did it originate?
How fast is it spreading?
How many deaths occurred?
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/8083179.stm
Other applications
Patterns in major causes of deaths in Australia, 1907 to 2003
Source: AIHW 2005. Mortality over the twentieth century in Australia: Trends and patterns in majorcauses of death. Mortality Surveillance Series no. 4. AIHW cat. no. PHE73. Canberra: AIHW.
Sharing ideas... about problems and solutions
Respecting everyone’s opinions
Planning activities and carrying them out in a systematic way to test new ideas
Knowing when things don’t work
Flexibility
Passing on knowledge
Research culture
Opportunities for discovery
Variety (fieldwork, teams, data analysis not just about working in a laboratory)
Flexibility
Travel
Why work in health research?
Where has my work taken me?
A Science Degree can be a passport to a career in a wide range of fields
Take me for example!
General science & maths ►health sciences ► health research ►women’s health – working with Aboriginal communities
Studying Science