Priyanka Sathe
Why did you choose the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for your PhD?
I studied an honours year at the institute, and chose to stay in the same lab to do my PhD. I originally chose the institute because it’s a world class and world-renowned institution.
Further, the lab in which I’m studying is a leader in the field of dendritic cell biology, in which I’ve a long-standing fascination.
What do you see as the benefi ts of doing a PhD at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute?
At the institute, you’re constantly surrounded by scientists who are at the top of their field. This means you learn an incredible amount, not only about the area in which you’re working, but also about how science is done, and skills necessary to being a good scientist.
Given the diversity of interests and techniques at the institute, there’s almost always someone around who knows what you need to learn, and is willing to sit down, discuss ideas, and perhaps collaborate with you.
On the social side, the students tend to form a very tight-knit community, and it’s always helpful having people around who have dealt with the various issues of a PhD!
When did you start your PhD?
February 2008
What is the subject of your PhD research?
I’m looking at the different routes to how the body forms a very interesting cell type - the dendritic cell - which forms a surveillance network for the immune system.
What does a typical working day involve?
I’ll usually have 1-2 experiments set up every day. These can range from things such as isolating cells to study their properties, analysing cells I’ve set up before, or running molecular analyses on diff erent cell types.
Most experiments involve incubation times, so I make sure the day is punctuated with coff ee breaks! Most days, we’ll have seminars and talks to go to, so the day often turns into a balancing act between getting the experiments done and timing incubations to coincide with talks.
What did you study at uni?
Bachelor of Science (advanced stream) with majors in biochemistry and immunobiology.