Photo (left to right): Claire Perrozzi, Dr Jess Reynolds, Sarah Pillar, Kathi Roiger, Dr Gail Alvares, Georgina Earl, Dr Aarti Saiganesh and Rebecca Kuzminski
Why did you become a researcher?
Gail Alvares (Senior Research Fellow): I decided to become a researcher after I started my university degree in psychology. I had always intended on working in a more clinical or applied field, but after being exposed to an environment in which I could help run experiments, test new hypotheses, and get to ask interesting questions, I got hooked! What I love about being in a research field is being able to be curious, to get to read and enquire, and to design your own studies to be able to try to answer these questions. There's always an infinite amount of more research to do, and never a boring day!
Sarah Pillar (Research Development Manager): I want to have a positive impact on autistic children that lasts beyond the length of my own career! Research can change the future.
Aarti Saiganesh (Senior Program Manager): Science is all around us and research explores the questions that help us to understand the science. I have always been a very inquisitive person, and as a little girl, I often interrupted the classroom asking "why?". This is where my love for science and research began and has led me to now manage a large research team.
Georgina Earl (Clinical Research Assessor): I love science, and better understanding the world and how we work, but I also love helping people! I wanted to be a part of something that helps to improve the lives of others. I’m especially interested in kids and how we can give them the best start to life. The cool thing about research is that you have the chance to investigate and make discoveries that can be used to enact long-term, wide-scale change for people, or contribute to knowledge that will have an impact later down the track.
Rebecca Kuzminski (Project Coordinator): I became interested in research as an undergraduate student studying occupational therapy (OT). I saw that there was a need for more research in OT and began my honours project which is where I first saw how impactful research can be on the lives of the people it seeks to benefit. Being an inquisitive person, I found the research process of trying to understand people and discover an answer to a research question exciting and fulfilling.
Kathi Roiger (Clinical Research Assessor): As a Clinical Research Assessor I get to work directly with amazing, dedicated families who volunteer their time for our research and can often make a positive impact on their lives by providing them with important information about their child’s development and/or providing clinical services as part of our research projects. I love working with families on an individual level whilst knowing I contribute to more knowledge and better services for the broader community.
Kandice Varcin (Honorary Research Associate): I did a psychology degree that included an Honours year. That was the first time I ever considered being a researcher – I loved the thrill of generating new knowledge. I then did a combined degree – Masters of Psychology (Clinical)/PhD – and I felt as a researcher, I could directly contribute to bridging the research-to-practice gap by translating new, evidence-based findings into practice. It is such a privilege to have a job I genuinely love and that I feel is having a positive impact on the world.
Claire Perrozzi (Clinical Research Assessor): As a clinician I had the privilege of working with individual families to support their growth and development. As a researcher, I can help contribute to the evidence that will help clinicians provide better support and outcomes to families.
Why autism research?
Kandice: I am fascinated by the brain and the process of development. Because of my clinical training, I was also drawn to working with children who were developing differently. When I started working in the autism research field (more than 10 years ago!), it was apparent that there were gaps in supports for autistic children and their families. To me, it felt as though we could and should be doing a lot more from a very early age – so I’ve been doing that work ever since.
Kathi: Autism research has the potential to change lives by developing more effective therapies, finding the right timepoints to support children in their development when they benefit most, and promoting a more inclusive society. I work in this field to ensure that autistic kids have access to the support they need to thrive and live happy and fulfilled lives.
Sarah: I fell in love with working with autistic children as a Speech Pathologist, and getting to be a part of creating a better future for autistic children is the best job anyone could ask for.
Rebecca: Having worked with autistic children and their families, I could see the need for research to enhance supports for autistic people and their families and began a PhD in autism. While working with the autistic community during my PhD it became clear there are many areas that autistic people and their families would like more support with. Many of these areas need more research to inform how health professionals can provide support. Seeing how impactful autism research can be for autistic children, adults and their families has furthered my passion for autism research.
Claire: I love working with autistic children as they have a wonderful and unique way of seeing the world that brings me joy. Being part of research allows me to contribute to supports that will allow autistic children and their families to achieve their goals.
Georgina: Many autistic people face challenges every day, and research is a way we can listen and investigate how to provide the best supports in the future, and for kids, how to give them a great start to thrive in life! It’s a really interesting area of research, bringing together lots of different things, like allied health, medicine and social sciences. But more than that, it’s an amazing privilege to journey with kids and their families, and together, try to make the world a better place.
Gail: After starting my honours year in psychology, I got to work alongside the most generous and delightful autistic children and their families who were participating in clinical research studies. Their generosity of time and altruism to participate in research alongside their busy lives always stuck with me, as well as their unique insights. They constantly encouraged me to think about the research we were doing, or indeed think about the world we are in, from different perspectives and to not be afraid to challenge existing ideas or theories. Once I finished my PhD in Sydney, I moved over to work as a researcher with CliniKids and haven't looked back since!
Your top tip for encouraging girls to pursue a STEM career?
Sarah: You can bring your whole self to science – yes, bring your brain, but also know that you can bring your compassion, and your creativity.
Gail: Always be curious and ask questions!
Kandice: There are many pathways to careers in STEM. If you are passionate and persistent, you can and will create a career that is immensely rewarding and fulfilling.
Aarti: My top tip to young girls who want to pursue science is to never stop asking "why?" and to keep your curiosity alive.
Rebecca: It is important to remember that science comes in many forms beyond school subjects like biology, physics, and chemistry. An interest in human biology and helping people led me to study occupational therapy so I could work with people every day and help them to do all the things they wanted to do. Helping people to do what they want to do involves so much science beyond human biology. This includes understanding how effective a therapy is, what factors effect an outcome like mental health or quality of life and understanding people’s experiences.
Georgina: There’s so much good that can be done through science fields, and it’s so interesting. Think about what your gifts/skills are and what gets you up in the morning, then run with it!
If you are interested in finding out more about our current research at CliniKids, please click here.