Home to 120 researchers in the top one per cent in the world ( Essential Science Indicators 2014), Macquarie University is clearly going places – and so are our graduates. Our graduates have gone on to become CEOs, CIOs, heads and founders of well-respected organisations the world over.
Although she’s only one unit away from graduating with her Bachelor of Medical Sciences, Tiffany Russel Sia is already reaping the rewards of her Macquarie degree. While she finishes her degree, Tiffany is working as a clinical trials research assistant at the Brain and Mind Research Institute where she assists with drug-related research. She credits her PACE (Professional and Community Engagement) unit for giving her the skills needed for this big step in her career.
“Without my PACE unit I would never have been able to create networks and meet people on the same path as me,” Tiffany says. “It was my favourite part of my degree.”
The sky is the limit for Tiffany, who hopes to get her papers published and a research project done by the end of this year and move on to her PhD.
“Currently I work with autism spectrum disorders and I’m interested in inhibiting fear consolidation memory and minimising trauma,” she says.
Yet, it was one of the friends Tiffany made at Macquarie who helped open her eyes to her long-term dream. A refugee from Nigeria, he explained to her the depression he has been battling since the trauma of watching his parents die, and the lack of treatment options in refugee camps.
“Refugees need help to reduce the fear and stress that trauma causes,” she says. “I would really like to be able to help these people feel better about themselves.”
“My end goal is to create a pharmacology of drugs that could assist in the care of people with neurobiological disease. There are no drugs at the moment for Alzheimer’s or Autism Spectrum Disorder and other diseases – so that is the main focus of my career.”
With the experience afforded her by her Macquarie degree, Tiffany is well poised to bring her dream – supplying refugees with free treatment for PTSD – to life.
PACE integrates professional and community engagement experiences into your Macquarie degree. In addition to receiving academic credit, you also get the chance to apply your studies to real life. Find a Macquarie degree that can give you an edge on the competition.