Old Leightonian Torie Foster (2011) is appealing for support for her pitch to win funding for her groundbreaking research at the University of Queensland to determine the potential of a small protein (peptide Hi1a) from the venom of the Fraser Island Funnel web for treatment of spinal cord injury. Thus, the primary benefit of my research is that it might lead to a treatment that prevents damage in spinal cord injury from spreading, and in turn provide a better outcome for patients. Read more and watch a film of Torie presenting her research for a Women in STEM competition .
After obtaining a First Class degree (MSci) at the University of Nottingham in Zoology, Torie headed to The University of Queensland, and specifically the Institute for Molecular Biosciences has a really strong focus in biotech. She explains “My lab specifically works on “venoms to drugs”, including anti-parasitics and epilepsy (as well as my spinal cord research). I moved to work in Professor King’s lab because I think venoms to drugs is a fantastic research area and we have a huge collection of venoms here. There are so many venomous animals (such as shrews!), and within venom there are thousands of different molecules which have all evolved over time to hit specific targets.
My Biology teacher at Leighton Park pushed us to think critically without accepting a general opinion on things. That kind of ties into the field of venoms to drugs thing- its a little off the beaten track for most people to consider but there is increasing evidence to support it being a legit thing!”
Torie adds “Living here has been amazing, it is beautiful and sunshiney and warm. We are super close to the beach. It does get a little toooo hot sometimes, and being away from my family has been hard. I took up a martial art (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu!) during my undergrad, so when I moved here I almost already had a community to hangout with. The PhD can be really gruelling but I do love the challenge.”
To vote for Torie’s research, follow the link.
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