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I was excited on this particular morning as I leisurely cycled to work through the leafy streets of Brisbane, along the river. I expected back some results that I’d been waiting on for a while. I arrived at work, quickly checked my e-mail, flicked through my ‘to-do’ list (I’m notoriously bad at organising myself without lists!) and went into the lab.

Most day-to-day work in a laboratory involves pipetting very small quantities of liquid from one location to another, and today was no exception. This morning I had to pipette some bacterial DNA from one tube, add it to a reaction, then analyse the results of that reaction via computer.

The bacterial DNA samples came from a field trial that I carried out last year on a research farm in NSW. After calculating the appropriate reaction volumes from some tests I had done previously, it was possible to take those samples, and analyse them in our laboratory to provide the information I required.

The results I was expecting back from this particular experiment were DNA sequencing results. These DNA sequences had the potential to provide information about the different communities of microorganisms that I’m looking at in my current research project.

I spent most of today switching between analysing some of those DNA sequence results, listening to the chief of the division present a seminar on the future of Australian agriculture, discussing scientific papers that we’re preparing (over coffee, obviously!), and having farewell celebrations for a colleague who was leaving. It was a fairly busy kind of day, but hey, it beats getting bored, and it was Friday after all!

Setting up sequencing reactions in the lab

My job responsibilities at the moment involve conducting novel scientific research into a disease that affects the Australian Merino sheep, and costs farmers a lot of money in lost revenue. The DNA sequencing I am doing is a step towards understanding the problem in greater detail. Initially I looked into the problem, decided the course of research to take, and followed that path driven by my hypothesis. Since nobody really knew much about what actually caused the disease, this hypothesis led me down the path of characterising which microorganisms were involved.

After five years of working in the field (of molecular biology), I still get extremely excited about DNA sequencing – it really is a privilege to see things that no human eye has ever seen before and discover new species that no one has ever described previously. Eventually, from the project, I am hoping to generate new knowledge that farmers can use to better tackle the disease problem, thus putting Australia in a stronger position on the global market.

At high school, I did subjects in Biology, Chemistry and English Literature, just to add a little diversity and keep my options open. I wasn’t sure whether I’d go down the path of biology, chemistry or a high-speed fighter pilot. Ultimately my dreams were brought alive one day on a wet and windy beach in northern Wales (in the UK) on a biology field trip. I was inspired by the sea air to study marine biology at university, which in my mind was the most exciting of the three options.

To remain in science and work on your own research projects, it is very beneficial to have a Ph.D. So following on from my first degree, postgraduate study was a natural choice. As far as the future goes, I intend to remain in science at least for the foreseeable future. It’s a fairly competitive field, and you certainly wouldn’t go into it to get rich, but the daily challenge of research, the interesting people you get to meet, and the potential to work in a myriad of locations worldwide is hard to beat!

As testament to this, I started off life in England, where I did my undergraduate degree, continued with a Ph.D. in Scotland, and then came over to the fair shores of Australia about two years ago. Science does require ongoing career planning, and I suspect there will be many changes to my plans in future. But, not knowing what each day will hold, and tackling new issues are some of the things I love about science!