Fighting tuberculosis and allergies with an immunology PhD
During her PhD at the Doherty Institute, Dr Catriona Nguyễn-Robertson studied unconventional T cells, which might one day create a pathway to a more effective tuberculosis vaccine or a way to prevent skin allergies.
First published by The University of Melbourne
Life after graduate research: Dr Catriona Vi Nguyễn-Robertson
Understanding the immune system is key to fighting deadly infectious diseases. During her PhD at the Doherty Institute, Dr Catriona Nguyễn-Robertson studied unconventional T cells, which might one day create a pathway to a more effective tuberculosis vaccine or a way to prevent skin allergies. Today, she is an award-winning science communicator.
“One summer during my PhD, I had an allergic reaction to sunscreen. A normal person would probably just never have used that sunscreen again. But I was an immunology researcher,” laughs University of Melbourne graduate Dr Catriona Nguyễn-Robertson.
The allergic reaction was only irritating at first. But it got worse on each application.
“When you have that sort of delayed allergic reaction, that's when the T cells are involved,” she says.
T cells are part of the human immune system.
“They are like the security guards of your body, determining whether what's inside your cells should be there,” Dr Nguyễn-Robertson says.
Most researchers study T cells that respond to protein fragments. During her PhD in Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, Dr Nguyễn-Robertson studied unconventional T cells that look for other molecules, like fats and oils.
She had a Research Training Program Scholarship to support her research. Dr Nguyễn-Robertson also received a top-up scholarship through an ARC Centre of Excellence.
“Having that little bit extra gives you a little bit more security,” she says.
Discover new knowledge and influence research through a PhD
Dr Nguyễn-Robertson says basic research is like finding all the pieces of a puzzle for other people to start fitting them together.
What I’m doing can hopefully influence a whole bunch of other people’s research.
Dr Catriona Vi Nguyễn-Robertson
A better understanding of the immune system can lead to better protection against diseases.
After COVID-19, tuberculosis is the second top infectious killer worldwide. The current tuberculosis vaccine can protect children against one type of the disease.
“But it's not very good at protecting us from the tuberculosis disease that impacts the lungs – the kind that most adults get,” says Dr Nguyễn-Robertson.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium which causes the disease, is covered in unique fats. Unconventional T cells could recognise these and create a pathway to a better tuberculosis vaccine.
And they could help explain some allergies – like Dr Nguyễn-Robertson’s reaction to sunscreen.
“I looked at the ingredients of a sunscreen I had used before and compared it to the one that gave me the allergic reaction. There were two different ingredients. One of them had the right chemical shape to activate the very immune cells that I was working on,” she says.
An experiment proved that it could activate the T cells Dr Nguyễn-Robertson studied.
Why choose the University of Melbourne for a PhD in immunology
Dr Nguyễn-Robertson completed her Bachelor of Science with Honours at the University of Melbourne.
“At the end of honours, I couldn’t imagine not coming into the lab every day,” she says.
She enjoyed the research and loved the team she worked with.
I had people who would stand by my side in a tissue culture hood and we would sing along to music as we're working.
Dr Catriona Vi Nguyễn-Robertson
“The people you work with are so important. And the University of Melbourne is highly ranked. So, you know, that’s a plus.”
Develop important skills through a PhD
Communication, time management, problem solving, and critical thinking skills are among the many Dr Nguyễn-Robertson credits to her PhD.
Science isn’t finished until it’s communicated, Sir Mark Walport famously said in a 2013 lecture on climate change. Dr Nguyễn-Robertson’s supervisors agreed.
“I had a lot of support from them to go to conferences, get out there, share my work and really make something of it rather than just slugging away in a lab,” she says.
At an immunology conference she attended during her PhD, Dr Nguyễn-Robertson set herself a challenge of summarising conference presentations in short social media posts. She loved it.
She began seeking out science communication opportunities. Dr Nguyễn-Robertson participated in initiatives like the Three Minute Thesis competition. She volunteered for the Museums Victoria exhibition Gut Feelings: Your mind, Your Microbes at Melbourne Museum. She wrote a song about human digestion for a Melbourne Science Gallery poetry slam.
“That went down well. I thought, ‘Oh, maybe this is something I could do as a thing,’” Dr Nguyễn-Robertson says.
The more science communication she did, the more opportunities came her way.
“I had some people tap me on the shoulder to do different things. But I also wanted to try everything,” she says.
“Whenever I present on my career journey, I show this slide that illustrates all of the things that stemmed from my PhD, and also highlights how people have helped me go from one thing to the next.”
A PhD can create a career pathway to science communication
Dr Nguyễn-Robertson is now a Senior Tutor in science communication at the University of Melbourne.
“I teach research students how to communicate their work to different audiences,” she says.
I think the PhD helps my work because I know how to talk to academics and research the scientific literature. And when I am dealing with a whole lot of information, my PhD means that I know how to comprehend that, and then turn it into something a bit more digestible.
Dr Catriona Vi Nguyễn-Robertson
After graduating, Dr Nguyễn-Robertson has also continued to work with organisations like Museums Victoria and the Royal Society of Victoria. She helps organise the annual National Science Week as Chair of the Victorian Coordinating Committee.
In 2024, Dr Nguyễn-Robertson won the Australian Science Communicators’ Unsung Hero of Science Communication award and the Strategic Alliance Network Career Achievement Award in the Victorian 7News Young Achiever Awards.
“I have a mix and match of the best parts of different jobs. I’m really enjoying the people I’m working with and the things I’m doing. It’s very rewarding.”
