Question: What did you experience when you worked at the University of York?

Hi kborcher – thanks for this question, and thanks for reading my profile!

Living and working overseas is a fantastic experience, no matter what area you work in. Getting to live in a different country made me appreciate a lot of the things in Australia I take for granted – like Twisties and good coffee – but it also showed me the ways which we could do things differently. And I got to meet fantastic people, and travel in Europe on weekends and holidays!

I took a break from studying malaria when I was in York and worked on a different parasite called Leishmania which also causes serious disease in developing countries.

Leishmania is often called a “flesh-eating parasite’ as it causes horrible skin lesions, that can eat away at the ears, nose and face. This causes damage and scarring that can’t be repaired. If the parasite spreads from the skin to the internal organs, like the liver and spleen, it kills people. Pretty nasty stuff!

So at the Univeristy of York I got to learn about a new disease, and learn new skills and methods of studying parasites. And since I got back to Melbourne I have used some of those methods to study malaria. I had a great time living and working in England, but it is also nice to be home!