Interview with the 2017 Bill Wheeler Award winner Joanne Williams

Ahead of the 2018 Bill Wheeler Award and Symposium later this week, we caught up with University of Wollongong Masters of Biofabrication student and last year’s winner, Joanne Williams, for a short interview looking back at her wonderful achievement.

What did winning the Bill Wheeler Award last year mean to you?

It really meant a lot. It was like coming full circle. Attending the first Bill Wheeler event in 2009 was my first experience of ACES, as a community member, and was my first glimpse into the type of research that goes on here.

The focus of the event was on research that can have a real impact on people and communicating that research to the community. This really inspired me to want to become a part of it. To then go on to win that award because I had the opportunity to learn how to do that type of research and to communicate it to others, has been an amazing experience.

How did you use the community raised funds awarded to you to develop your research?

I travelled to Melbourne to visit the Director of the Graeme Clark institute for Biomedical Engineering, the BioFab3D lab and the people who work there. I was able to discuss my research and meet with others to get a feel for the current directions of research specifically in the area of Cochlear implants. I really enjoyed getting a feel for medically driven outcomes within the hospital setting and observing research in an alternative environment. I was also able to network with academics and representatives from industry.

I have plans to discuss future research opportunities with them. I’m also hoping to attend a biofabrication conference in Germany later this year – if my abstract is accepted.

What would your advice be to the 2018 winner?

Look at both conferences you could attend and other research environments areas you are particularly passionate about. You can bump into the most incredible collaborative opportunities just by being in the kind of place that inspires your research.

What are you looking forward to most at this year’s award and symposium?

Engaging with the community. I love it. Having come from there rather than the typical science based background, I feel like I understand how overwhelming yet fascinating research can be.

The 2018 Bill Wheeler Award and Symposium is set for this Thursday, August 16 from 5-7pm. You register at attend via Eventbrite.