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