Twice Mice » Public Health

Twice Mice

Lydia — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 08:56:31 +0000

Thanks Mum! I am a little sad that Adrian and I won’t be able to return to Australia this year to attend our graduation ceremony for our Masters of Public Health. So my mother sent us these two cute little representatives who received their gown and mortarboard in our place.

We still haven’t been sent our final grades for our last course – hope this doesn’t jinx us.

Last Essay

Lydia — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:11:12 +0000

I have just submitted my last essay for my last course in my Masters in Public Health by correspondence. As long as I pass this essay, I will have completed all the units and I will qualify for graduation. It has been very difficult to juggle everything over here, and not having constant assessments hanging over my head will be a great relief.

I am very thankful that Adrian encouraged me to enroll in this course back in 2007. This extra qualification was enough to land me my current job as a clinical epidemiologist. Having a job that I enjoy makes all those essays and exams feel worthwhile.

One to go

Lydia — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 08:29:22 +0000

I noticed a strange feeling of freedom this weekend. Then I realised what what behind it – a few days ago I submitted my last assignment for my second-last unit of my Masters of Public Health correspondence degree. Ever since we arrived in Belgium I have been spending quite a lot of my time working through the “Clinical Biostatistics” unit, but last Monday I submitted my very last assignment. Next semester I will complete the course with the compulsory “Social Perspectives in Population Health”, and then I am all done. I can see the end.

Of course, I also start French classes in September…

Two thousand and eight

Lydia — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 11:38:37 +0000

We welcomed in 2008 on a flight back to Seattle, unaware that it would be our last year in the USA. We both worked very hard during out post-docs in medical science, and we both made novel discoveries and uncovered some of the mysteries of the development and function of white blood cells. Adrian had his work published in some excellent journals, and I learned that the paper from my post-doc “may be suitable for publication, pending revisions” in a great journal. Adrian has been offered a professorship, and I am investigating some interesting jobs in clinical trials. We experienced the freezing winters of the North that will never make me consider Canberra to be a cold city ever again.

I attended MacWorld and witnessed Steve Jobs give his last keynote and unveil the Macbook Air to the world. We explored more of the USA in dribs and drabs – Arizona, Nevada, California, and Hawaii – as well as exploring the Ukraine and Moldova.

The biggest issue that we faced in 2008 was the decision about where we would live in 2009. At first, it was between Maynooth (Ireland), London (UK), Montreal (Canada), and Brussels (Belgium). We visited all four places, and it came down to a battle between the two bilingual cities, Montreal and Brussels, and then Brussels won due to employment and travel opportunities. We celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary in the country that was to become our new home, and Adrian will starting his own lab at the University of Leuven from February 2009.

We finished up our post-docs in Seattle in November, made huge progress towards completing our Masters of Public Health degrees, and finished up the year visiting extended family in Australia that ranged from Brisbane to Adelaide. After nearly two years outside of Australia, we are able to see our birth country with new eyes, and appreciate its charms as well as its challenges. It is a country of relative compassion and opportunity, but is also isolated and monolingual. The weather is nearly always warm with blue skies and extraordinary wild-life, but the water crisis is hitting hard and many of the main rivers no longer reach the sea.

In a few weeks we fly off to Brussels, to begin our new home in Belgium. My goals for 2009 are:
- To find a short-term furnished apartment
- To get a residency permit
- To find a job
- To start learning Flemish
- To get a work permit
- To start my job
- To start learning French
- To buy a house

I think that’s enough to keep me busy for twelve months or so. It is a bit overwhelming to be faced with so many changes, but I realise how lucky that we are to have this opportunity, so the main emotion I feel is excitement. We had a great time in North America over the past two years, and while I think we are better suited to Europe, I am very thankful for all the happy memories that we have of the United States of America.

An Australian Student Again

Lydia — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 06:34:53 +0000

How strange it is, to be back in this country after 22 months of absence. Crossing the street is difficult, as I am still looking the wrong way. And the loss of my iPhone is almost crippling, as I am no long able to bring up an instant map of my location, or able to check my email anywhere, or find out where the nearest movie theatre or when the next bus is coming. The sign and smell of the local Starbucks elicits fond memories of all my hours curled up on the couches of that Seattle-bred coffee house. I miss the friends that I have made in Seattle, their stories about the intricacies of American culture, and their interesting perspectives on national and international events.

Still, it is refreshing to be back in Australia, and in a strange way it almost feels like I have never left. Very little cognitive effort is needed to get around. The supermarkets are filled with delicious and familiar delicacies. Our cupboard is filled with Aussie ingredients. I have been eating Weetbix for breakfast and vegemite and honey sandwiches for lunch (and sometimes also for dinner). My aunt and uncle generously welcomed us back to Australia with a spectacular spread that included vegetable pasties and beetroot – both items that are impossible to source in the USA.

I am enjoying my intense Masters of Public Health blocks – not starting the day until nine o’clock is such a luxury, and the other students are friendly and enthusiastic. We completed our first joint presentation on Friday, and I am proud of how well everyone pitched in to produce such a great seminar. I now have a bunch of assignments hanging over my head, but with no more 14-hour experiments to do, I feel quite confident that they will all be completed in time.

I am savouring the luxury of speaking the same language as the locals, of understanding the etiquette and the signposts, and of being so close to friends and family. Apart from the terrible storms, the weather here is generally warm and mild, and the days are full of sunlight. These are the comforts that I will miss in Belgium.

S.3142 and H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act

Lydia — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 13:29:11 +0000

Today is October 15, the National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day in the USA. I have watched family and friends try to piece themselves together after these tragedies, which are made all the more difficult as often an answer cannot be found to the question “why?”

As a scientist, I know that thorough analysis of health issues begins with a quality data set. The S.3142 and H.R. 5979 Stillbirth Awareness and Research Act sets out clear requirements for each state to record pregnancy and infant loss in a systematic way, which will help researchers establish a national database to look for patterns and common threads between cases. This is the first step in identifying associations, which can lead to causes, then treatments, and then cures. I hope that the US government will find time to pass this Act amongst all the election and financial chaos.

Masters of International Public Health

Lydia — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 04:32:00 +0000

The University of Queensland is pleased to offer you a place in the following program:

Master of International Public Health [by correspondence]
Commencement: 26th November, 2007

How exciting. My first unit: Introduction to Substance Use & Misuse.

I’m going to need to buy some shiny new stationary. And maybe an iMac.