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Meet Sarah Miller from @t.cell.sarah, a research assistant & science communicator:!

Tell us a bit about yourself, where are you from, what is your career path and what are your scientific interests?

My name is Sarah and I am from Sydney, Australia. I am currently working as a research assistant at the University of New South Wales (UNSW). My current project focuses T cells in model of B cell lymphoma. The research focuses on why the T cells stop functioning during late cancer stages (when there are lots of tumour cells) and if they can be programmed to not become exhausted and kill the cancer cells, which I think is pretty cool 😊.

My journey into academic research was not the straightest path but I want to show that...

I believe that by openly talking about both my struggles and high points in research, makes other see what research is really like and that they aren't alone.

What kind of posts do you do on social media? Why?

My posts tend to focus on different immunological concepts, at the moment I am doing the different immune cells and I plan to move on to diseases soon. If I have time...

I have started a new series called ‘meet the scientist’ and it shows different scientists from different fields and what they do in research but also what they do outside of research, so the public can get to know us a bit better.

I don't like that science is still seen as something that is elitist because you have to be smart to do it, well I'm here to tell you that's just not true, a lot of it comes down to persistence and to keep going when you get knocked down.

If you could choose one thing everyone should know about immunity what would it be?

That is why we have vaccines and we are trying to work out what causes cancers, to try and prevent them in the first place. Not everything can be cured or it’s too complex for us to cure, so working on prevention methods is the next best step!

Tell us something you wish someone had told you earlier about going into research and science.

The hard work will pay off! Your experiments will end up working and you deserve to be here! Imposter syndrome is a big thing for me, I always feel like ‘how did I end up here, and am I good enough?’, and the answer is yes! Yes, you are good enough and yes, you more than deserve to be here 💪!

What is the best part about your day?

Seeing the people I work with, I have made some lifelong friend through science and science communication. Lunch is the best part of my day not just because I get to eat, but also because I get to hang out and catch up with my friends and disconnect from the lab for an hour before I go back to the lab.

I also love that we have a special understanding about what we do, while I might not understand exactly what they do in the lab sometimes, but I do understand that it’s hard and sometimes you just need someone to listen.

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The world would be a better place with more...

...compassion.

Tell us a fun fact about you!

Apart from Harry Potter, I love Christmas. I have never experienced a white Christmas but hope to one day! Also, instead of ugly Christmas sweaters, in Australia we have ugly Christmas rashies (a top you wear over your bathers to protect you from the sun), they are the best!

Fun fact about your dog!

His name is Moc or and he is a cavoodle (seriously google cavoodle puppies they look like teddy bears, so cute) 🐕.

Thank you Sarah for sharing your insight and experiences with us! You can follow Sarah on Instagram: @t.cell.sarah!.

Educational resources for life scientists and interviews with scientists/science comunicators in the field.

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