Hi, my name is Aditi, and I’m currently an Honours student at UWA with a focus in genetics. I’m originally from India but have lived in Western Australia for about 17 years, having moved up to Perth from Bunbury to begin my tertiary studies. I completed a Bachelor of Biomedical Science here at UWA in 2023, majoring in Genetics and English & Literary Studies. In the second year of my undergraduate degree, I began to publish poetry mostly involving scientific metaphor, which can be read in Westerly Magazine, Cordite Poetry Review and Damsel Magazine. I was selected for Westerly’s Writers’ Development Program in 2023—under the mentorship of Nadia Rhook, I produced creative work revolving around human evolution and ‘junk’ DNA.
Science was always one of my favourite subjects in school, but genetics in particular intrigued me. Over the course of my degree, I gained an appreciation for how research in this field has led to medical breakthroughs that have helped millions of people worldwide. Wanting to contribute to this, I joined the ARC Training Centre because of the resources, skill development and networking opportunities it offers. The Centre oversees a very diverse range of projects, which was appealing to me as someone who wanted to explore what issues in health demand scientific inquiry.
Much of cancer therapeutics centres around the selective killing of cancerous cells. My Honours research project is a step away from this, as it concerns the selective protection of healthy cells during drug treatment via the exploitation of chemotherapy resistance. Though chemotherapies are often a frontline treatment for many cancers, they have numerous side effects due to their broadly poisonous effects on all cells. Using breast cells as a model, I am investigating how a chemotherapy resistance gene transgenically delivered to healthy cells may be able to shelter them from a cytotoxic drug, whilst offering no such protection when delivered to cancerous cells. This will be done in 2D as well as 3D cultures, for a more comprehensive understanding of this approach’s in vivo relevance. The overall aim of my project is to potentially enhance the selectivity and therapeutic window of existing chemotherapies, which might alleviate cancer patient mortality.
I hope that over the course of my research, I will expand my repertoire of technical skills to engage with a wide range of projects that may play a part in bettering healthcare and medicine. Besides this, I aim to improve my scientific communication skills, in order to spur interest in the general public and fellow researchers about exciting advancements in the field. Through the Centre, I have been able to meet many people who are proficient in a variety of techniques, and are willing to share their expertise and advice with me. Despite having only been here for about 6 months so far, the Centre has already greatly facilitated my personal and scientific development.
