"In some odd way that you don't understand and can't begin to articulate you feel an acquaintance with it — a familiarity on an unfamiliar level….and that in some way your visit here is more than happenstance." — Bill Bryson, “In a Sunburned Country”
I visited UQCCR Herston (Frazer Institute currently) for four weeks in June 2026, through a funded ESCMID Observership. I recently finished my training in Clinical Microbiology at the National Institute for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest, Romania. I was drawn to this field for its vastness — its global nature and interconnection with almost every other medical speciality, including forensics (incredible, right?).
I had two overarching goals: to gain insight into how world-leading research works, and to experience clinical practice in a different corner of the globe. This centre caught my eye, and what started as a slightly ambitious idea turned into a valuable experience that seems to hold more than 4 weeks worth of learning.
My time here has been full and enriching. I sat in on research meetings with the AMO group and the Merino group and watched how clinical trials get managed. I read through research proposals, grant applications, and study protocols. In the lab, I learned techniques that added to my experience in molecular biology: ONT library prep with Tonya, standardising cultures for a project on rapid pathogen and antimicrobial resistance detection with Marianna, and the hollow fibre infection model with Getnet. I joined grand rounds in the pathology lab, ICU multidisciplinary rounds, and AMS ward rounds, and sat in on a few PhD confirmations, which gave me a look into research areas I hadn't encountered before. Every day I was aware of what a privilege it is to be here, learning from the people who shape this field. I was especially touched when Dr. Roberts stopped a meeting to explain the context so we could all follow along, and when Dr. Abdul-Aziz took time out of his day to walk me through the concepts behind his research, with real enthusiasm.
I came away with a much clearer sense of what an antimicrobial stewardship programme looks like in practice, and I want to set one up at my own hospital, and eventually push for something similar nationally. A PhD confirmation on OPAT — outpatient parenteral antimicrobial therapy — also gave me something to follow up on: Romanian hospitals are short on beds, and an OPAT programme could let some patients finish treatment without staying in one.
Outside of work, I went whale watching off Stradbroke Island, which I'd recommend to anyone. Brisbane mornings were loud with birdsong, and kangaroos grazed by the footpaths as if nothing about that were unusual, which, after a while, it wasn't. What I'll remember most, though, is how welcoming everyone was. I was included in the team from the first week, and I don't think I had time to feel homesick because of it.
My advice to anyone thinking about something similar: get uncomfortable, apply for the opportunity that's been on your mind, and you might just find the place, the people, or the research topic you were looking for.
Before I arrived, Australia felt more like a concept than a place. Everything I learned and saw, and everyone I met, made it real. These experiences don't only make you a better physician, but a better person. I'm grateful to ESCMID for making this possible. Perhaps more than in any other field, it matters that doctors stay connected to colleagues all over the world: infectious diseases and microbiology have no borders, and with migration more present than ever, we need to stay aware of and connected to international practice.
To conclude, I'll leave you with another quote from Bill Bryson:
"The people are immensely likable — cheerful, extrovert, quick-witted, and unfailingly obliging. Their cities are safe and clean and nearly always built on water. They have a society that is prosperous, well ordered, and instinctively egalitarian. The food is excellent. The sun nearly always shines. There is coffee on every corner. Life doesn't get much better than this." (In a Sunburned Country)
