Cure Cancer - Dr Marlene Hao

Cure Cancer - Dr Marlene Hao

 

Tell me a little bit about yourself?

I’m a 36 old researcher, and leading a research group at the University of Melbourne. I was born in China, and my parents migrated to Australia when I was 8 years old. It’s strange to think back on that time, as it was a huge change moving from China to Tasmania in the early 90’s! My dad is actually also a research scientist, he studied floatation chemistry, and moved to Australia to do his PhD! I grew up being aware of science research, and studied Biomedical Science at Melbourne Uni. I started studying the enteric nervous system in my Honours project in 2006. Now I’m running a lab together with my long-term collaborator, Dr Lincon Stamp. We have been working together in the same lab for about 7 years now! It’s great to be able to share both the joys and burdens of running a lab head together with someone – we’ve got each other’s backs! I took a year of mat leave in 2018 when my daughter, Isabelle, was born. I’m so very grateful to my partner, Daniel, who’s always been very supportive of my career. Without his time and effort in looking after our daughter, I would not be able to put in the work that’s needed to keep the lab running!

 

2. What inspired you to become a cancer researcher?

I started my career studying the enteric nervous system, which is the nervous system located in the gut. A few years ago, I was riding to work and a very interesting thought popped into my head: why are there no gliomas in the gut? Gliomas are the most aggressive form of brain cancer, and come from mutations that affect glial cells, as well as neural stem cells, in the brain. Glial cells and neural stem cells are present in the enteric nervous system, but somehow, there are extremely few incidences of gliomas in the gut! This got us thinking: what is special about glial cells in the gut that might protect them from forming these aggressive cancers?

 

3. What is your favourite thing about being a researcher?

I think it’s great to be able to work on a problem that moves towards new therapies, and that could potentially have a big impact on patients who have to live with these diseases. Cancer is such a horrendous disease, but it doesn’t have to be. For example, so much progress has been made in the way that breast cancer is treated. 30 years ago, patients who were diagnosed with breast cancer had a horrible prognosis, and were faced with the real prospect of death. Now, we have advanced therapies to the point where 9 out of 10 patients diagnosed with breast cancer now survive beyond the first 5 years. The same can happen for brain cancer!

 

4. Are there any challenges you have experienced/that concern you as a female researcher specifically?

I guess this applies to all researchers who have a young family: it’s extremely hard to balance work and family life! There’s always work that needs to be done, and we’re always thinking about work in some way, shape or form, whether it’s writing grants, or papers, or that never-ending list of journal articles to read…! Having a young child has made me realise that I need to switch off sometimes, and give 100% of my attention to Isabelle. She really can tell if I’m playing with her but thinking about something else! And it’s extremely important to be able to carve out that time to be able to give her that attention. However, sometimes, that means that I’m doing an extra 2-3 hours of work after she’s gone to bed, because the work still needs to be done. It’d be great to have an extra 5 hours in the day! The competitive nature of grants at the moment means that there is very little security, and I’m constantly aware that if I don’t get the work done, I could very well be out of a job in a couple of years time when my fellowship ends. At the same time, your kids are only so small for such a short amount of time, and I don’t want to miss out on those special moments in Isabelle’s life!

I’ve been extremely lucky to not have experienced any sexism as a female researcher. I think this has been due to having great mentors, both male and female! I’m also located in a very supportive work environment (the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at the University of Melbourne), with some very strong and capable female leaders. It’s always been a very collegial environment, and nobody has ever doubted my capability based on my gender.

 

5. Everyday Cashmere have partnered with Cure Cancer and are donating 10% of every purchase towards cancer research between April 19th – May 9th. Why are partnerships like this important to young researchers like you?

We’re very grateful to Cure Cancer for funding our research. Without their support, we would not have been able to pursue this very novel project! Every dollar going towards research helps! And especially helps young researchers like myself, who are still establishing themselves to be competitive for the larger grants to get their research off the ground. It’s wonderful to see companies getting interested in cancer research and giving their support to Foundations like Cure Cancer, who are channelling this funding to early career researchers!

 

6. Everyday Cashmere are passionate about wellness and sustainability. How do you try to practice wellness in your everyday life?

I’m trying out wellness…! We are definitely very keen on sustainability, and want to make sure there is a planet left for our daughter. It’s great to see companies take on this ethos and practice it!

 

7. What do you think of your Everyday Cashmere piece and where will you be wearing it?

It’s going to be great for keeping me warm on those early morning cycles to get to the lab in the Melbourne winter!

 

8. What is your favourite thing about being a mum?

I love it when my daughter says “Cuddles! Mama, do you need a cuddle?” She gives the best hugs! The best thing is just watching her grow and develop her own personality.

 

9.How will you be celebrating Mother’s Day this year?

We’ll be having lunch with my parents, and then dinner with Daniel’s parents! Both our mums have been so wonderful and supportive of us, and have really shouldered the responsibilities of being grandmas! My mum looks after our daughter 1 day a week, which is such a big help! Plus, whenever we do the drop-off/pickup, my parents load us up with their backyard veggies, and also buns that they’ve just made – which ends up being my lunch for the next 2 days! I couldn’t have survived last year without their help, and the help of Daniel’s parents. It really does take a village to raise a child!