My trip to The University of Queensland Clinical Centre for Research (UQCCR) came at an opportune moment for me in my career journey. After completing a couple of years of Infectious Disease physician training in London, UK, I am embarking on a pathway that embraces PK/PD research to a greater extent. I have recently applied for PhD funding in the pharmacokinetics of central nervous system (CNS) infections, so coming to Brisbane to engage with the impressive research team seemed like a great opportunity.
UQCCR already has a number of successful collaborations with UK institutions, including the stability studies performed for the British Society of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy’s OPAT group, not to mention a number of the group having worked in the UK. Moreover, Imperial College and their affiliated hospitals, where I have been working, has historic connections which made it a straightforward choice for an ESCMID observership.
Specifically, I’m interested in whether antimicrobial prophylaxis in CNS infections reaches high enough concentrations to prevent infections. Answering this question is difficult, but a number of things I saw at UQCCR have helped me in my understanding of how we can answer it. For example, seeing the hollow fibre infection model, and talking about how it can be used for prophylaxis (rather than treatment) with the team, was particularly instructive. Moreover, understanding how PK/PD models are used for prophylaxis, and would be implemented for future research, was a major part of my observership. I particularly enjoyed the modelling workshops, and the highly collegiate way of working in the group.
I can say that, in addition to the content of the observership, my experience of the form (people, conversations, interactions etc) made me feel incredibly welcome, and I would certainly recommend the experience to a colleague. And this is not to mention the therapy dogs which appeared halfway through my trip, a particular highlight!
I would be happy to speak to anyone considering undertaking a similar experience, and I am very grateful to all the team who have facilitated it for me.
