“Having mentors at each stage, and across various roles, of my career has facilitated my success” Dr Rebecca Koss has more than 17 years’ international, national and statewide experience in environmental and conservation policy and strategy. Rebecca is currently a Science Writer at the Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability. She is currently writing … More STEMM Profile: Dr Rebecca Koss | Science Writer | Office of the Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability Victoria | Melbourne | VIC

“Perhaps I would not have dropped out of university at 18 if I had a mentor and life would have been easier. Nevertheless, a career in science has been a wonderful joyride” Professor Frances Separovic is a Biophysical Chemist and Deputy Director of the Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne, Australia. Frances grew up in Broken … More STEMM Profile: Professor Frances Separovic FAA | Deputy Director BIO21 Institute | Chair of Chemistry | University of Melbourne | Melbourne | VIC

“…you can always surprise yourself with how strong you are” Dr Li-Ann Leow is a post-doctoral research fellow in the field of cognitive neuroscience at the Centre for Sensorimotor Performance, at the University of Queensland, with expertise in motor control, motor learning and the dopaminergic reward system. Before working at UQ, she relocated from the University of Western … More STEMM PROFILE: Dr Li-Ann Leow, PhD | Postdoctoral Fellow in Neuroscience | University of Queensland | Brisbane | QLD

“I do not have a mentor because, within the masculine culture of engineering, subconscious bias pervades all women and men.  I do not trust even myself to avoid gendered assumptions” I am a mother of two wonderful sons. Born in Western Australia, I completed most of primary school in the South-West coal-mining town of Collie, … More STEMM PROFILE: Associate Professor Sally Male | Engineer and Researcher | University of Western Australia | Perth | WA

“So many large research grants awarded to teams that have not included a single woman as an investigator. Insisting on the inclusion of women as investigators, as part of the eligibility criteria would force future applicants to pay attention to the female talents around them” Professor Fabienne Mackay is an immunologist who obtained her PhD … More STEMM PROFILE: Professor Fabienne Mackay, PhD | Head of Biomedical Sciences | University of Melbourne | Melbourne | VIC

“‘Be the change you want to see’. We are the future of science and we have the ability to change the culture and equality in our workplace by our actions.” Dr Laura McCaughey is a Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Research Fellow working at the ithree institute (infection, immunology and innovation) at the University of Technology, … More STEMM PROFILE: Dr Laura McCaughey | Sir Henry Wellcome Postdoctoral Research Fellow | University Technology Sydney | Sydney | NSW

Since writing this profile, Henry (previously Anna) has transitioned from female to male. However, he is still enthusiastic about sharing his profile, having lived experience as a woman in STEMM. Thank you Henry! “In my experience, asking ‘stupid’ questions has often led to long and enriching discussions. Being a scientist is all about asking questions, after all” The first … More STEMM Student Profile: Anna Zovaro | PhD student in Physics | Australian National University | Canberra | ACT

“The most valuable personal attribute for me has been courage. The biggest challenges I have faced personally and professionally have required that I steel my resolve…” Dr Pallave Dasari began her research career at Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, specialising in infectious diseases and Indigenous health, and is now with the University of Adelaide … More STEMM Profile: Dr Pallave Dasari | Postdoctoral Researcher | Breast Biology and Cancer Unit | The Queen Elizabeth Hospital | University of Adelaide | Adelaide | SA

“… seek out an early career researcher program and mentors, to be open to opportunities for collaboration and networking and to work in an area you are passionate about” Professor Elizabeth Sullivan is a public health physician and one of Australia’s leading perinatal and reproductive health epidemiologists. She is Assistant Deputy Vice Chancellor Research and … More STEMM PROFILE: Professor Elizabeth Sullivan | Public Health Physician and Epidemiologist | University of Technology Sydney | Sydney | NSW

“Believe that you can make it! I feel that the first step is achieving your goals, whatever it might be is to believe that you can do it!” I am an academic Biomedical Engineer and an emerging leader in the field of novel bedside technologies for newborn babies at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI). … More STEMM Profile: Dr Anushi Rajapaksa | NHMRC Early Career Fellow | Senior Research Officer | Pneumococcal Research | Murdoch Children’s Research Institute | Melbourne | VIC

“Everyone’s academic journey will be different and it can be extremely damaging to constantly hold yourself up for comparison to others” Muireann Irish is an Australian Research Council Future Fellow and Associate Professor of Psychology at the Brain and Mind Centre, University of Sydney. Originally from Ireland, Muireann completed a Bachelor degree in Psychology at … More STEMM Profile: Associate Professor Muireann Irish | ARC Future Fellow | Brain and Mind Centre and School of Psychology | The University of Sydney | Sydney | NSW

“Sometimes when I’m the only woman or the youngest in the room I can feel a bit intimidated at voicing my opinion, but I’ve learnt to trust myself, and my peers and I now am a lot more confident in my own skin” Benita Husband is Director of Strategy at Norman Disney & Young (NDY), … More STEMM Profile: Benita Husband | Engineer | Director of Strategy | Executive Member | Norman Disney & Young | Melbourne | VIC

“I strongly believe that women can do everything that men can do; therefore, there is a need to encourage women to follow their passion” As a kid I used to say to my mum that I wanted to be a scientist when I grow up, then I discovered the encyclopaedia of science that my dad … More STEMM Profile: Diana Navarro–Perez | PhD Student | Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Microbiology | La Trobe University | Melbourne | VIC

“…nothing was invented in a day – or invented without a journey, recognise the journey and push, but don’t rush, but make sure you take the learnings on the journey. Even a journey to failure is a learning” Currently I am the CEO of a small biotech company moving towards A listing. I started to … More STEMM Profile: Judith Mitchell MBA, GAICD | Chief Executive Officer| Next Science | Sydney | NSW

  “I treat each day as a new opportunity. I try not carry the stresses of the previous day but see the new day as another chance to overcome the challenges and pressures” A molecular pharmacologist trained in one of the world’s most renowned research laboratories, Dr Sanam Mustafa moved from the U.K in 2009 … More STEMM Profile: Dr Sanam Mustafa | ARC Senior Research Fellow | Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics | The University of Adelaide | Adelaide

“Being a scientist means dealing with complex problems and one faces challenges, small and large, technical and personal, every day. As Dory in ‘Finding Nemo’ sings ‘Swimming, swimming, just keep swimming’” I am a Research Fellow in the School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences and the Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute at Curtin University. My … More STEMM Profile: Dr Evelyne Deplazes | Research Fellow | School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences | Curtin University | Perth

“Truth always comes out of science. I enjoy the whole process from starting off to test a particular hypothesis to arriving at a conclusion” Dr Lahiru Gangoda completed a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with first class Honours from University of Colombo in Sri Lanka in 2005. In 2008, she obtained a … More STEMM Profile: Dr Lahiru Gangoda | Research Fellow | La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science | La Trobe University | Melbourne | VIC

“I would restructure the entrenched patriarchal frameworks within academia and research to enable a fairer trajectory for females” Dr Fatima El-Assaad is a Senior Research Associate at UNSW Australia and coordinates all research activity, research strategy, communications and interactions with various stakeholders. Fatima graduated with First Class Honours in Medical Science and was awarded her PhD … More STEMM PROFILE: Dr Fatima El-Assaad | Senior Research Associate | UNSW Australia | Sydney | NSW

“There are plenty of hidden opportunities in each challenge. To discover these opportunities one needs to get uncomfortable by embracing change and taking the initiative” Dr Shaghik Atakaramians was awarded ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DECRA) in 2014 on Terahertz metamaterial waveguides. She joined the Institute of Photonics and Optical Science (IPOS) at the … More STEMM PROFILE: Dr Shaghik Atakaramians | Senior Research Fellow | School of Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications | UNSW Australia | Sydney | NSW

“The Harvard Gender bias test is a good test for all and being pro-active on gender equity policies” Professor Ala Tabor joined a new Institute at The University of Queensland, the Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI) in 2010, after 18 years of research with the Queensland Government. Her vision is to lead translational … More STEMM PROFILE: Professor Ala Tabor | Senior Principal Research Fellow | The University of Queensland | Brisbane | QLD