Clinical Research Assistant
Qualification: Master of Public Health, BSc (Hons) Psychology
Year of Graduation: 2021
Education Provider: Edith Cowan University
Job Title: Clinical Research Assistant
Employer: Fiona Wood Foundation for Perth Children’s Hospital
Country of origin: Sri Lanka
Are there any notable experiences from your time studying you’d like to share?
Opportunity to work in various programs such as Dr Michael Mosley Australia’s Health Revolution program.
If you could tell your graduate self-one piece of career advice, what would it be and why?
Keep seeking all the opportunities available and fearlessly put yourself out there. Believe anything is possible and never stop trying.
Tell us about your experience since leaving ECU. How has your career progressed to date? Any professional achievements you’d like to share?
I was able to secure a job in pediatric research even before graduating officially thanks to the cadet researcher opportunity I had in ECU. I was fortunate to join the research team of world-renowned Burns surgeon Prof. Fiona Wood. I am working on a major burns research project at Perth Children’s Hospital and was able to celebrate many milestones in the project. As the face of the participant recruitment campaign, I am proud to mention we celebrated 300 participants in the Burns BIOBANK and are now looking forward to analysing data in the future.
What are some of your passions and interests?
I am very passionate about working towards the improvement of the health and wellbeing of children across the world. I enjoy working with children and helping them in every way possible to thrive in life.
What are the top 3 skills you need in your role as a Clinical Research Assistant/BRANZ Project Officer?
- Written and verbal communication skills and teamwork
- Attention to detail
- Connect with children and families coming from various backgrounds
How has your technical and operational experience assisted you in your role?
Previous experience working with children, connecting with them, and understanding their cultural differences is one of the main skills that has helped immensely in my role. In terms of technical skills, the ability to learn different computer programs and systems swiftly is very important.
What was your main reason(s) to select Perth as your study destination?
My partner did his higher studies in Perth. He loves everything about Perth which was the main reason for me to decide on Perth as well. Perth is beautiful and for the most part of the year weather feels like home to me. On top of everything Perth holds lots of opportunities for new students.
What have you enjoyed the most about living and studying in Perth?
Beautiful weather in Perth.
What would you say to students thinking of coming to Perth to study?
Perth is full of exciting opportunities if you have the right attitude and work hard for it!
Did you use any of the StudyPerth service offerings during your time studying? And if so, which support services were helpful?
I was quite late when I got to know about all the opportunities offered by Study Perth. I had many international friends participating in StudyPerth events and activities, especially the opportunity to connect with other international students and share experiences.