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Julie Balen

Julie Balen

Name:
Julie Balen
Age:
26
Location:
Brisbane
Current job title:
PhD Scholar in Epidemiology/Public Health

Qualifications

Past experience

I worked at the Swiss Tropical Institute, Switzerland, before starting my PhD, but only for 6 months. I gained a lot of experience working on different tropical diseases and epidemiology - the spread, distribution and control of illness.

How did you get started?

During my final year of undergraduate studies I became extremely inspired and motivated by a course on public health and tropical diseases. I was fascinated by the parasites and felt devastated by the death and illness they caused to so many people. I knew almost instantly that I wanted to find out more about these diseases and the health risks they create. Six months later, when I was very close to finishing university, I e-mailed about 15 professors whose work I had read on these parasites and waited patiently for replies. I got only two replies but that was enough to get me where I wanted to go and the rest is history!

Greatest professional achievement

I would say examining and treating thousands of villagers in China, as part of my fieldwork. This was team work however; I could not have done it alone! We were examining stool samples for the presence of parasite eggs and examining blood for the presence of anaemia, perhaps caused by the parasite infections. Anyone who was found to be infected was treated immediately. I think it’s good to be humbled, however, and this achievement of mine is small compared to thousands of others – for example those of Amartya Sen.

Challenges the job presents

Sometimes it’s too easy to get stuck in a downward cycle, thinking that the work you are doing is irrelevant, not good quality, un-important and so on. When this happens to me, I try to remember the faces of all the children and adults we met during our work in China. That’s usually when I realise that every little step makes a difference, every little step pushes the ball a bit more and soon the ball will roll almost by itself (i.e. it will be self-sustainable).

What you like most about your job

I love the contact with other people, from all ages, nationalities, cultures and educational backgrounds. I love the way I can travel to remote and interesting areas, locally and internationally. I love the challenges of research and the immense rewards of working with communities that are in less fortunate conditions. I love the way my time, my work and my knowledge can have, and is having, a positive impact on myself and others.

Typical day at work

This depends, sometimes there really is no typical day. Some days I have to spend all my time at the computer, writing applications for funding, analysing data we collected, reporting the results to our collaborators, responding to their ideas and feedback, putting all our information together to form a big document. The days in the field (in China) were amazing, a typical day involved discussions with senior village leaders, interviews with local inhabitants, lots and lots of hard work but going to bed feeling really fulfilled.

Advice for other women

It’s better to aim for the sun and reach the moon, than not to aim at all! Don’t underestimate what you are capable of achieving, dream your dream and go confidently towards it. Be determined, even when it seems impossible – there will always be a way, even if it means YOU have to create it.

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Last updated: 10 October 2008