Meet our Students:
Kerrie Smith
PhD
in Biotechnology
I knew that science was my passion when I began
my studies at Swinburne in the Bachelor of Applied
Science (Biochemistry/Chemistry) course but had
no clear career goals in mind. My intention was
to complete my undergraduate and Honours years
and afterwards begin a career in the workplace.
I chose Swinburne because of its close relationship
with industry, notably its Industry-Based Learning
(IBL) component of the undergraduate course.
I spent my twelve month IBL placement as a chemical
analyst in the Quality Control Chemistry department
at Mayne Pharma, a large pharmaceutical company
manufacturing injectable drugs. Whilst it was
an invaluable experience and highly enjoyable,
I realised that a chemistry job was not for me
in the long-term.
My Honours year was both challenging and motivating,
spent studying genes in wheat that contribute
to grain hardness, an important trait for end
product use. Whilst the undergraduate course
was interesting, it was my Honours project that
led me to conclude that I would seek a career
in research, and that I needed, and surprisingly
wanted, to pursue postgraduate study.
I am currently studying for my PhD and am working
on a project to characterise aquaporin genes
encoding membrane water channels in wheat, and
to determine whether they help the wheat plant
survive through saline and dry conditions. I
have attended a number of conferences during
this time and will be presenting my work at the
Royal Australian Chemical Institute (RACI) cereal
chemistry conference later this year in Perth
.
Plant research is not as alluring as some other
facets of biotechnology such as forensics or
medical research, and did not immediately present
itself as a career path. However, my research
to date has given me a keen interest in this
fascinating area and I hope to continue with
plant research after I complete my PhD.
Read more about Michael's course:
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