Tell us about your personal connection with UWA and a little bit about your experience here
I’ve been at UWA since 2014 and was very grateful to be able to stay at St Catherine’s College through a Shirley McLeod scholarship. St Cat’s is an incredible place – your personal development explodes and the support, opportunities and what you learn from living with such diverse people is amazing! Living so close to UWA meant I had a real personal connection to it – being on campus not just for classes but for clubs and volunteering, after-exam celebrations at the Tav, being the college mascot on Open Day, late-night study sessions or even just walks at the river! Even though I’m not at St Cats anymore, I still feel very woven into the fabric of UWA – being part of the research community here, mentoring younger students and being a lab demonstrator have made it feel like my home university.
What is your passion and how do you want to make a difference in the world?
Science!! Also, getting people as excited about science as I am and being able to explain science in a way that anybody can understand! Even though I’m still trying to figure out exactly what I want to do after my PhD, I know I want to help make science more accessible and bridge the gaps between scientists and non-scientists. I think this is super important in terms of being able to tackle global problems and make effective policies at the government level.
Give us the elevator pitch for your research project (then let us in on the big picture)
Bushfires can be pretty devastating but they also present opportunities for new life. While straight after a fire, the bush looks completely destroyed, a few weeks later you’ll notice lots of seeds germinating and the bush coming back to life. This fascinating phenomenon is caused by compounds in bushfire smoke called karrikins, which trigger seeds to germinate. (The name comes from the Noongar word ‘karrik’ meaning ‘smoke’). I work on understanding how karrikins are able to do this – I study the function of tiny molecular machines (proteins) inside plant cells that are able to bind karrikins, relay the signal through the cell and somehow trigger germination as an end result (there's a video below to help explain). If we are able to figure out what’s going on and how the whole process works, we can use this knowledge for applications in agriculture, horticulture, restoration and conservation.
What difference has the Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship made?
The scholarship has given me access to an amazing array of people, opportunities and ideas! In terms of people – the 2017 cohort of scholars and the wider Westpac network have been a massive source of inspiration and support. For opportunities – later this year I’ll be able to use the travel allowance to go visit a collaborating lab at the University of California Davis and undertake some research there. And ideas – the first year of the scholarship involves a leadership development program.
Something that’s really stuck with me is the idea of a leader not being the loudest person at the top of the pyramid but an authentic and genuine person who holds the team up from the bottom and leads by example.
Words of Wisdom
Be in charge of you – if you want to jump on an opportunity or try something out – go make it happen!
Sabrina Davies BPhil(Hons) '18 is a third year PhD student studying the biochemistry behind seed germination after bushfires. She describes herself as ‘nuts about everything science’ – particularly being able to teach science or get other people as excited about it as she is! When not in the lab you can find Sabrina attempting to play electric guitar or washing clothes and having a chat at Orange Sky (a mobile laundry service for people experiencing homelessness).
Watch Sabrina demonstrate her research in 2 minutes