EmmanueI Novy has been an anaesthesiologist and intensive care specialist in Nancy (France) since 2013. In 2020 he started his PhD at the University of Lorraine, exploring intra-abdominal candidiasis in the critically ill patient. His main research theme is centred on antimicrobial optimisation in critically ill patients, seeking to improve antibiotic and antifungal dosing in intra-abdominal infection.
Similarly to many PhD students he was encouraged to move overseas to improve his knowledge and skills for his research topic. Emmanuel has been following the research activities from Prof Jason Roberts’ group for and while, and therefore it was obvious for him that the “Antimicrobial optimisation team” (AMO) would be the best place for his international experience. He first contacted Prof Roberts and Prof Lipman in 2019, and then spent four years preparing to live in Brisbane for a year with his wife and two young children. Emmanuel’s first advice for someone thinking to start a PhD including an overseas travel with family is to be well prepared, well accompanied and patient. However, among the many strengths of the University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research (UQCCR), they have a dedicated team to manage, advise, and help foreign students with their administrative procedures and contact with UQ.
Emmanuel’s objectives when joining the team were to learn pharmacokinetic modelling and to initiate future collaborations between Australia and France. After one year, not only have these objectives been achieved, but others opportunities also came along thanks to the open-mindedness and quality of people here. As with Australia in general, the AMO team is very well organised. There is one leader for each topic (Dosing software and therapeutic drug monitoring, clinical pharmacokinetic studies, pharmacometrics modelling, bioanalytical analysis…) and every student/researcher is welcome to participate in all of them. Thus, in addition to his pharmacokinetic modelling training, he could be involved in the writing of systematic reviews and meta-analysis, narrative reviews, and grant applications. As the team is directly linked with the hospital, and as a clinician, he could spend some time in the intensive care unit and share experience with the clinical team there. Therefore, from a research perspective, this year benefitted him more than expected. Thanks to their support, he is about to publish three articles in high-ranking journals as first author and has been involved in three others. Furthermore, the AMO group is also directly linked to CRE RESPOND (Centre of Research Excellence, Optimising and personalising antimicrobial dosing to reduce resistance) allowing every member from the team to join high-quality scientific conferences throughout the year, as an attendee but also as a speaker.
Lastly, UQCCR cannot be summarised by just the AMO team. This 8-level building gathers together different research teams where contacts and collaborations are very easy to initiate. People who work here have different backgrounds and come from various origins around the world. Thus, sharing work experience but also advice for daily life as well as travel within Australia.
For other people considering a similar project, Emmanuel says “If you never try, you never know! Obviously, getting overseas, even if you are more advanced in your career, could appear to be tricky. But if you are well prepared, motivated, eager for knowledge, and resilient, everything is possible”. Based on his experience, Emmanuel also knows that, particularly in the research field, you need guidance, support, and mentorship. For that, UQCCR is a perfect place to take your next career step.
Emmanuel would like to use this newsletter to thank Prof Roberts and Prof Lipman for giving him the opportunity to join the AMO team for one year, as well as all members of the team for their incredible support and kindness.
