Medicine Intro | Medical Research | Life & Death | Salt of the Earth | Viva la Revolution

Medical Research - It's a Privileged Career
By Gazelle Medenilla

___Scientists. They are old, grey-haired, lab coat wearing, ‘geeky’ professionals. They work in solitary conditions, cooped up in their laboratory, and have their eyes forever glued to a microscope. Right? Wrong!

___Whoever conjured up this image of a typical scientist obviously forgot to tell Dean Kilby. Dean Kilby is a PhD student working at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research at the Royal North Shore Hospital. He is a young and vibrant scientist with his sights set on the world. Dean Kilby started his road to a career in medical research by completing a Bachelor of Science degree with honours at Deakin University. While many of his fellow students were excited to graduate and to finally leave the academic world behind, Dean made an interstate trip to pursue a PhD at the University of Sydney.

___Upon my arrival at the Kolling Institute, I was greeted by Dean and his colleagues during their communal morning tea. Soon after, I was given a tour of the different research laboratories, such as the Cellular and Diagnostic Proteomics Laboratory and the Tumour Biology Laboratory. When asked about his typical work routine, Dean said that one of the best aspects of working in medical research is the flexible lifestyle that it provides. Due to the nature of the research grants they receive, medical researchers are in effect ‘self-contracted professionals’. That is why Dean can sometimes be seen arriving at 10.30am and working late into the night.

___As a medical researcher, Dean works in the Growth Research Group and deals with protein structure and function. Some would find it uninspiring to spend countless hours in the laboratory trying to understand the human body. Not Dean Kilby. Dean is driven to work hard everyday knowing that he is "the intellectual driving force behind a research project". His passion was evident when he repeatedly referred to his research project as his ‘baby’. He spends much of his time and energy developing his ideas and experiments. There have even been times when he has "gone to the lab in the middle of the night to test a new idea". It is for this reason that he believes the image of a ‘mad-man scientist’ was created.

___During my tour of the different research laboratories, I immediately felt a family atmosphere between the PhD students, senior medical researchers, laboratory assistants, and the receptionist. I also noticed that the other PhD students were performing different tasks. Some were in the office, in front of their computers and rummaging through mounds of paper, while others were conducting experiments in the laboratory with the radio playing in the background.

___One of the PhD students in the laboratory was Scott Stanners, a researcher in the Renal Medicine Group. As colleagues and close friends, Dean and Scott rely on each other for support and motivation. Since medical research is highly competitive and requires collaborative work, the pair strongly agree that it is important to affiliate themselves with people of high standards and similar goals in order to succeed. As Scott bluntly puts it; “You hang with losers, you become a loser”.

___While I was in Scott’s laboratory, he conducted an experiment involving a lot of pipetting. Like most professionals, Scott finds his work challenging and often frustrating. “…90% of your results aren’t what you want…the satisfaction comes during the 10%, when you discover something nobody else has”. He also thinks that it is important to be involved in activities outside the workspace because, ironically, it is outside the laboratory where he gains the clarity needed to generate new ideas.

___In the course of my day at the Kolling Institute, I became aware that PhD students live active lives outside the laboratory. For example, Dean and Scott are both former Presidents of the Post-graduate Research Students Society (PReSS). I was lucky enough to sit-in on PReSS’s monthly meeting, in which eight attending members discussed issues ranging from upcoming student seminars to student getaways. PReSS has enabled the pair to develop their leadership and communication skills, and it provides an escape from the rigors of the laboratory.

___However, what sets Dean apart from other professionals is his driving ambition, centred on his philosophy of leadership and management: “Leaders are those who stand at the head of the pack with their peers, while managers are those who stand detached and oversee their peers. I know who I want to be. I want to be the braveheart standing in front of the pack…urging my peers on”. It is with this proactive attitude that Dean has become a successful academic and an asset to the medical research community. However, the road does not end here for Dean. Through his personal drive and initiative, he has capitalised on the travelling opportunities associated with medical research. Later this year, Dean will fly to New York and Columbia University, where he plans to further develop his academic and professional career.

___After spending the day at the Kolling Institute of Medical Research, I could immediately see that life as a medical researcher provides opportunities to work flexible hours, discover the unknown, develop leadership skills, and travel abroad. Finally, through the words of two young, vibrant, and enthusiastic scientists, it is clear that “Medical Research- it’s a career of privilege!"

Medicine Intro | Medical Research | Life & Death | Salt of the Earth | Viva la Revolution