Micro/Immuno Intro | Goggles & Labcoats | Breast Cancer | Extremophiles | Tuberculosis

War on Tuberculosis
By Lauren Ma

___Dr Bernadette Saunders is a senior research officer at the Centenary Institute. She is working on host responses to Tuberculosis (a type of infection caused by bacteria, namely Mycobacterium). She works in a team with another senior scientist, three PhD students, one honors student, and one technical officer. Research is most efficient and productive as a team.

___Dr Saunders’ research group is working on how inflammatory response to tuberculosis infection is controlled and the vital elements needed to develop and maintain resistance to this infection. Concurrently, they are testing whether polymorphisms (small mutations in genes) will affect particular function of genes and thus the susceptibility of individuals to develop tuberculosis.

___Tuberculosis is a major health problem around the world, especially in sub Saharan Africa and regions of South East Asia. Poor nutrition and inadequate hygiene make the Tuberculosis (TB) bacterium spread more effectively. The Tuberculosis bacterium is latent, which means that there are no symptoms of infection if the bacterium is not activated. Once activated, however, symptoms of coughing, weight loss, and fever are observed. It progresses to a potentially lethal condition where the lungs are colonized by the bacterium. Great difficulty in breathing ensues, which may result in suffocation and death. There are more than two million deaths per year caused by Tuberculosis.

___Research suggests that the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Tuberculosis form a lethal combination. HIV weakens the immune system. An HIV positive patient with Tuberculosis is much more likely to develop a severe infection than those who are HIV negative.

___Dr Saunders studied Science at the University of Melbourne, completing honours in Microbiology and Immunology. She conducted her PhD research on the bacteria Mycobacterium at the University of Colorado in the USA. In addition to research, Dr Saunders currently lectures and works as a laboratory demonstrator at the University of Sydney. She has a great passion for teaching and researching.

___Despite some subtle differences, the laboratories at the University of Sydney and the Centenary Institute have similar working environments. The equipment at the institute is better and newer than at the university. However, as a researcher at the university, you have a set base salary, so you do not have to worry about getting a grant from National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC) to fund your research.

___The best part of Dr Saunders' job is attending international conferences, and she has recently been to a few in the United States. These conferences give her an opportunity to promote her research and be recognised by other immunologists and corporations. Through recognition, she will be more respected, and her work will be favored over someone less reputable when grant applications are reviewed.

___The worst part of her job is seeing her experiments fail or become contaminated by other micro-organisms. “It is really hard on you when you have been preparing for months just for the results, and on the last day, everything just goes wrong; like when the incubator broke down, which happened during my PhD research.”

___Ethical issues are often important in science, such as animal cruelty concerns when performing experiments (usually on mice). Ethics committees that cover animal welfare consist of scientists, members of the general public, and Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA). The ethics committees approve or disapprove requests to use animals. Researchers need to outline the urgency of animal use, the procedures they will use, whether the animal will suffer and feel pain, and if so then how suffering will be eliminated or minimized.

___Besides Dr Saunders’ busy work life, she sometimes finds time for her hobbies. They include cooking, cake decorating, theatres, bush walking, and camping.

___Immunology requires a lot of time and dedication. There is a great sense of achievement in knowing and uncovering the causes of disease and finding out how to prevent them.

___So are you up for a challenge?

Micro/Immuno Intro | Goggles & Labcoats | Breast Cancer | Extremophiles | Tuberculosis