SBS Virtual Career Roundtable - 28 May

Nicholas Gheradin PhD - Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Godfrey Laboratory, Peter Doherty Institute

After completing a Bachelor of Biomedicine at the University of Melbourne in 2010, majoring in Immunology and pathology, Nick enrolled in an Honours year through the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Here, Nick developed a passion for lab-based research, and subsequently undertook a PhD between the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Melbourne and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Nick’s PhD studies focussed on human T cell immunology, including the fundamental biology of a family of ‘unconventional T cells’, and their role in the haematological malignancy multiple myeloma. During these studies Nick built on the solid foundational knowledge gained during his undergraduate studies in Biomedicine to attain a diverse skillset in translational immunology, cellular immunology, biochemistry and molecular biology.

Nick currently runs his own research program as a Postdoctoral Fellow within the Godfrey Lab at the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity. Nick’s work focuses on the biology of unconventional T cells including MR1-restricted MAIT cells, CD1-restricted T-cells and gamma-delta T-cells, exploring their antigen-recognition, effector function, and their roles in cancer.

Dr Wendy Huang - General Dentist, St Helens Dental

Wendy graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Biomedicine (2013) and a Doctor of Dental Surgery (2017). She gained invaluable experience by practising in various public and private clinics in Melbourne before relocating to the beautiful state of Tasmania. She has been practising as a general dentist at St Helens Dental since 2018.

During her Biomedicine degree, she majored in genetics and had an exchange at McGill University, Canada. While Wendy was studying at the University of Melbourne, she lived on campus at Ormond College and was the recipient of the Ormond Scholar Award in 2014, as well as the Sir Harold Dew Medical Scholarship in 2015, 2016 and 2017.She also won the Melbourne Global Mobility Scholarship in 2012 and was appointed as the University’s Dental Ambassador to promote dental health in local communities from 2013-2017.

Wendy is passionate about community engagement and dental health promotion. Since her relocation to St Helens, she has been involved in bringing dental care to the local aged care home and treating the needy patients within the facility. She also engages with the local schools for dental health promotion and preventive care for children. Wendy is currently registered with the Australian Health Practitioner Dental Agency and a member of the Australian Dental Association.

Tal Maman - Graduate Lawyer, Ashurst

In 2016, Tal graduated the Bachelor of Biomedicine with a major in Immunology. Having sampled from several legal breadth subjects in his undergraduate degree, Tal developed a passion for the law. He is now in the final semester of the Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne.

The intersection between science and the law has always intrigued Tal, and so he found himself naturally attracted to Intellectual Property. In June, Tal had the opportunity to complete a clerkship within the Intellectual Property team at Ashurst, a top tier international law firm. His knowledge about the immune system and its fight against pathogens became very valuable when he was tasked with filing and opposing pharmaceutical patents for the invention of novel drugs and technology. Tal acknowledges that it was particularly empowering to be one of the few in the large firm with specialist biomedical expertise that could be applied to the fascinating legal issues surrounding the protection of medical discoveries.

Among other things, Tal has also worked as a paralegal within the banking, construction and criminal law practice areas at different law firms.  After recently graduating from his Juris Doctor at Melbourne, Tal accepted an offer of as Graduate Lawyer at Ashurst LLP.

Dr Sakshi Singh - Doctor, Trainee Psychiatrist and Actress

Sakshi completed her Bachelor of Biomedicine degree at the University of Melbourne and then went on to study a Doctor of Medicine. She continued her studies and training at the Royal Melbourne Hospital and subsequently completed her internship there too. Sakshi has always had a strong interest in mental health and commenced her training in psychiatry last year as a Royal College trainee. In addition, Sakshi is studying her Masters at the University of Melbourne and currently works as a psychiatry registrar. Outside of her medical career, Sakshi has a keen interest in the arts and cinema and has been working on films in Australia and India. She aims to raise awareness about mental health through her training in psychiatry as well as through her expertise in cinema.

Dr Akshita Sundaresh - Senior Physiotherapist

Akshita completed her Bachelor of Biomedicine in 2011 and then went on to complete a Doctor of Physiotherapy with distinction. Akshita started her graduate year at St Vincent’s Hospital in 2015, rotating though cardiorespiratory, orthopaedic and neurological areas. She became a Senior Orthopaedic Physiotherapist three years ago and works across the acute and outpatient settings. Akshita has a keen interest in the rehabilitation of patients following limb salvage surgery for bone and soft sarcomas and is currently completing further research in this area. She is also a member of the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre’s Sarcoma working group, developing educational workshops and resources to improve the multidisciplinary care of patients.

Kulaghan Kumaradevan - Engineer,  DXC Technology