The perfect place to facilitate change
2020 marked my first year working at the Doherty Institute and the most remarkable year in my career to date. I could not have asked for a more exciting, intense, and challenging start to my position in the Microbiological Diagnostic Unit Public Health Laboratory (MDU-PHL), working with Ben Howden as the Senior Project Manager for public health pathogen genomics.
I came into the role eager to be a part of a world-leading institute, working among the country’s genomics leaders in MDU-PHL to bring pathogen genomics to the forefront of public health surveillance and response.
I had only just moved back from Canberra and was figuring out my living situation, having left a three-year stint working in the Office of Health Protection (OHP) – coincidentally as part of the team responsible for pandemic preparedness and response planning.
When news broke of a potential pandemic, I felt guilty at first for being excited at the thought that ‘this was the moment I had been training for’ and thought I had missed out on the action by leaving OHP.
Little did I know, I would be involved in more state and national projects than I could have possibly conjured up in the fight to tackle this pandemic. Within weeks, MDU-PHL and others were rapidly developing methods to sequence, analyse and report on SARS-CoV-2 genomics and I was requested to share my time between MDU-PHL and OHP to assist with the coordination of the Public Health Laboratory Network and the national coordination of SARS-CoV-2 genomics efforts.
My experience in national coordination, governance and policy, and project management became even more critical as the lead project manager across several COVID-19 activities. This included the establishment of a national SARS-CoV-2 genomics data sharing and analysis framework that was endorsed by national committees and now implemented in every state and territory.
I also manage the AusTrakka platform and service, providing real-time national genomics surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and a mechanism for sharing genomics capacity nationally. Also part of my remit is the Medical Research Future Fund and Victorian Department of Health-funded Innovative Testing Project investigating the feasibility and utility of new and emerging SARS-CoV-2 tests.
I admit, much of the detail in 2020 is still a blur. Everything was urgent, which at times felt like nothing was urgent. The day would be spent attending meetings and the nights spent actioning the outcomes.
We all became master multi-taskers, attending meetings while responding to emails and still somehow keeping up with the conversation. Inevitably, I also faced many challenges. Implementing change is difficult, further heightened with the breadth of stakeholders and the sensitivities of the environment.
In saying that, it was difficult to acknowledge any sense of fatigue or defeat because I am passionate about my work and I work among the best and brightest minds in public health who fostered an environment of camaraderie, motivation and collaboration. What can be achieved when working with like-minded peers who share the same drive and dedication to public health is boundless.
The year showed me that I am in the perfect place to facilitate real change that can make a positive impact on public health. I am thankful for all the opportunities over the last year – it has been truly rewarding.
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