My guest this month on the ResourcefulHDR podcast is Dr. Alison Rice, Deputy Director of the Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform at CSIRO.  I met Alison through the magic of Twitter and she kindly agreed to share her story.

After completing a Bachelor of Science with Honours from the University of Adelaide, Alison worked as a Research Assistant … at this stage, Alison said she could not have imagined doing a PhD. Alison went to the UK and Europe as part of a fact-finding mission and only decided to undertake a PhD when she received encouragement from several people. Alison competed her PhD in Biological Sciences in French and English at the University of Bordeaux II in France.

When Alison returned to Australia her career led her into roles working as a Senior Research Scientist leading research groups. Alison’s work focused on new therapeutic options for the complications of haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in Medical Research Institutes in Sydney and Brisbane respectively.

In 2012, Alison made the successful transition to a career in Research Development, incorporating research policy, research management and business development at Griffith University. In 2018, Alison took up a role as a Principal Policy Officer in Queensland Health focusing on bringing content specific knowledge about research to Government to enhance import and export opportunities for Queensland’s health and medical research sector. In 2019, Alison was appointed as the Deputy Director of the Synthetic Biology Future Science Platform at CSIRO. This strategic position aims to help build a vibrant synthetic biology research and development community to drive the bio-based industries of the future.

The story of how Alison ended up in her current role illustrates the value of networks and that, through good relationships, unexpected opportunities can arise.