Postgraduate profiles

Masako Tsubakihara is a recent PhD graduate and winner of the 2006 Bancroft Prize.	Swati Rajagopal is an Infection and Immunity student.
William Maina is a recent graduate of the Master of International Public Health program.	Mark Elkins is the inaugural recipient of the Sir Zelman Cowen University Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research.

Masako Tsubakihara

Masako was born in Tokyo, Japan and moved to Sydney in 1996. She started down the path of medical research in the second year of her Medical Science degree, encouraged by academic staff of the School of Medical Sciences. As a result of this encouragement she applied for an Australian Heart Foundation scholarship to undertake short-term research in the field of cardiovascular diseases.

"This experience fuelled my passion for research", says Masako. Further encouragement led to her undertaking an Honours research project. She was mentored by Professor Cris dos Remedios of the Muscle Research Unit, who encouraged her to take her research further into a full PhD.

"The aim of my PhD was to understand gene expression changes that occur in human heart failure using gene expression profiling technology,” says Masako. During her PhD, Sydney Medical School provided the opportunity to travel abroad to learn cutting-edge techniques in gene expression profiling at Harvard University.

"In the future I intend to use all of the knowledge, skills and experiences I have obtained through my years of learning at the University of Sydney to better the human condition".

Masako was awarded the Bancroft Prize in 2006. Founded in 1923 by a bequest of from the late Louise Bancroft in memory of her husband Peter Bancroft MB, the $4000 prize is awarded annually by Sydney Medical School to students whose theses are passed without requiring any amendment.

Swati Rajagopal

Swati Rajagopal studied medicine in Bangalore India, undertaking postgraduate training in Internal Medicine in St Petersburg. She then came to Australia, starting work as a medical registrar in the Sydney South West Area Health Service.

"Immunology has always fascinated me so when this course came along I immediately grabbed the opportunity", says Swati. “The extraordinary diversity of student backgrounds was a big plus. With a mixture of students from fields of science and medicine, I have been able to understand both the scientific and medical concepts of the subject. And Sydney Medical School are so enthusiastic! It is an honour to be taught by professionals who are the best in the field".

"This program is recommended for scientists and medical students who wish to pursue their careers in clinical immunology and research", says Course Coordinator, Professor Jamie Triccas. "The study of immune systems is extremely critical in our quest to control diseases and improve quality of life.

Immunology plays a vital role, be it in the acceptance of new life-saving drugs, cutting-edge stem cell research to battle infections or organ transplantation to overcome physical abnormalities".

Swati will resume her work with the Sydney South West Area Health Service on completion of her course and plans to pursue her advanced clinical training in clinical immunology in Australia.

William Maina

William Maina trained at the University of Nairobi Medical School where he was awarded a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery. He worked as a GP in public hospitals in Kenya, then later in public health, mainly in immunisation and communicable disease control.

"The challenges in the field were enormous being confronted with an ever increasing burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases, compounded by the increasing number of people living in Kenya with HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria. I felt I needed to train further in order to place these health issues in a global perspective and so chose the Masters in International Public Health (MIPH)".

"This course has been invaluable. I am now able", says William, "to analyse research publications and interpret data and relate them to the reality on the ground. I am also now in a position to look at diseases from different perspectives with both proximal and distal determinants in mind".

Since finishing the MIPH, William has returned to Kenya and is now the Head of the Division of Non-communicable Diseases in the Kenyan Ministry of Health.

"It's a daunting task," he says, "but with the knowledge and skills I acquired at the University of Sydney, I am coping very well and am really enjoying my new job."

Mark Elkins

Mark Elkins, a PhD student in Sydney Medical School, is the inaugural recipient of the Sir Zelman Cowen University Fund Prize for Discovery in Medical Research. He won the $5000 prize for his leading role in a long-term trial establishing a novel and effective low-cost treatment for cystic fibrosis therapy.

The therapy uses hypertonic saline solution inhaled through a nebuliser for the treatment of cystic fibrosis. Administered twice daily over an extended period, the therapy reduces the recurring complications of the disease and improves the quality of life.

As a physiotherapist, Mark developed a personal interest in the treatment of cystic fibrosis through his close contact with patients. It was the relationships he developed with these patients and the experience he gained of their battle with the disease, that drove him to investigate the new treatment.

According to Mark, "we saw a sustained improvement in lung function, a major reduction in the number of acute flare-ups of the infection in the lung, a reduced need for antibiotics to treat the flare-ups and fewer days off school or work due to illness".

Mark’s work has seen him represent the University at the 2005 BioVision conference in Lyon, where he was one of only 100 students selected worldwide.

"The calibre of the people working in Sydney Medical School has been the key. My supervisor has a joint appointment with Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the University of Sydney, which means that I have access to renowned experts. The standard of research being done here is very high".