Some Blonde Scientist
Dr Georgia Atkin-Smith
Australian scientist and
passionate science advocate
Some Blonde Scientist
Dr Georgia Atkin-Smith
Australian scientist and
passionate science advocate
About me
Some Blonde Scientist I Dr Georgia Atkin-Smith
I am a Cell Biologist at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science working under the mentorship of A/Prof Edwin Hawkins and A/Prof Ivan Poon. By using a series of high resolution imaging approaches and pre-clinical models, my research aims to further aid our understanding of cell death during the progression and treatment of cancer.
I completed a Bachelor of Biotechnology and Cell Biology with first class Honours in 2014 at La Trobe University. I then completed a PhD in Biochemistry under the supervision of A/Prof Ivan Poon and Prof Mark Hulett. My PhD project investigated how dying monocytes (key white blood cells of the immune system) undergo a dramatic dance of death to generate small fragments, a process called apoptotic cell disassembly. At the conclusion of my PhD in 2019, my research uncovered key regulators of this process, it's role in homeostasis and infectious disease, and developed novel methods we can now use to study the cell death process.
In addition to working at the lab bench, I am a passionate science advocate and public speaker. I believe all scientists have a responsibility to communicate what we do, and communicate it honestly. To aid the transparency of science and make it more accessible, I frequently partake in outreach opportunities and document my life as a scientist as Some Blonde Scientist on Instagram. The world is what it is today because of science and we need the next generation to know just how life-changing being a scientist can be.
News!
Launch of the Australasian Cell Death Society and more!
January - the ACDS is here!
Some people made sour dough, others, home renos. However, my free time in the 2020 lockdown was spent developing the first Australian-lead society dedicated to cell death researchers. The Australasian Cell Death Society (ACDS) is an international society that brings together Aussie and NZ cell death researchers working locally and those now abroad. We aim to create a supportive and collaborative cell death community and aid the professional development of upcoming researchers. Thank you to our sponsors and Pioneer board who have been indispensable in bringing this vision to life. Sign up and find out more information here!
April - paper published!
Just like the garbage trucks that remove our rubbish each week, the human body has many cellular garbage trucks known as phagocytes. Phagocytes are present throughout the entire body and have key roles in disposing the body's cellular waste. Check out my sole-author review on this topic, summarizing our current understanding of dying cell clearance, published here in Biochemical Transactions Biology.
July - Nerd Nite!
It's time to get nerdy! I was so thrilled to hit the stage at the sold out Melbourne Nerd Nite show in July. Using my background in cell death, genetics and cancer, hear me describe the complex task of developing 'the cure to cancer'. The full video can be found here!
October - Grants galore!
I am thrilled to announce that I have received an NHMRC Emerging Leadership 1 Investigator Grant to support the next five years of my independent research. In addition, I am also fortunate to be awarded a Jack Brockhoff Early Career Medical Research Grant for 2022. Thank you very much to these funding bodies for supporting my career!
Stay tuned for more news and thank you for your support,
G.
