Professor Elizabeth Hartland on Careers in Science

LAKSHMI RAMACHANDRAN | OCTOBER 2015

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On Tuesday, February 25th, MBI was glad to welcome Professor Elizabeth Hartland from the University of Melbourne for her seminar on Cell Death Signalling during E.coli Infection followed by a Q&A about her experiences as a woman pursuing a high level career in the sciences.

Prof Hartland on Being a Researcher, Department Head and Parent

Dr Hartland is the head of the University of Melbourne’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology which comprises more than 120 academic staff including 15 full professors, 80 graduate students and around 22 research groups that are actively involved in microbiology and immunology research and teaching. The Department is recognised internationally for scientific excellence and leadership across the fields of microbiology and immunology and is home to a number of Australia’s most eminent biomedical scientists including Nobel Laureate, Professor Peter Doherty AC. Each year the Department attracts around $20 million in competitive funding for its research programs.

Prof Hartland’s lab and research focuses on molecular microbiology, cellular microbiology and the study of innate immune responses to bacterial pathogens. Her current research projects include the discovery of new virulence effector proteins in bacteria with type 3 and type 4 secretion systems and understanding how the biochemical function of translocated effector proteins aids infection.

Following her presentation on Cell Death Signalling during E.coli Infection Professor Hartland was glad to take questions from MBI researchers and students about her career path as a working mother and scientist and the challenges she faced pursuing a career in the hard sciences.