{"id":21471,"date":"2023-08-22T08:42:17","date_gmt":"2023-08-21T23:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/?p=21471"},"modified":"2023-09-06T13:49:54","modified_gmt":"2023-09-06T04:19:54","slug":"in-touch-with-erin-symonds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.flinders.edu.au\/fit\/2023\/08\/22\/in-touch-with-erin-symonds\/","title":{"rendered":"In touch with &#8230; Erin Symonds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.flinders.edu.au\/people\/erin.symonds\">Associate Professor Erin Symonds<\/a> is leading the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.flinders.edu.au\/blog\/2023\/07\/05\/sa-first-to-trial-bowel-cancer-database\/\">national trial of a digitalised colonoscopy database,<\/a> to help manage growing demand for colonoscopies. She explains why it&#8217;s a privilege to help improve the health of Australians &#8211; and reveals that a Year 11 careers quiz knew her better than she knew herself.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>What is your role at Flinders?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m a medical scientist under the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Department of Flinders Medical Centre. I hold an affiliate academic position with Flinders University, and lead the Bowel Health Service Team in the Flinders Centre for Innovation in Cancer Building. This dual role supports collaborations with clinical teams from SALHN and academic teams from the University, enhancing the ability to lead health care-centred research.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tell us about your research.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>My team\u2019s research focus is on cancer biomarkers and prevention, with one of our main goals being to develop and optimise non-invasive diagnostic techniques for detection of gastrointestinal cancers. This includes improving cancer screening options for people in the community, optimising surveillance for people who are at higher risk for developing cancer, and monitoring for risk of cancer recurrence after surgery and chemotherapy. We are currently working on projects that have been funded by NHMRC, the Medical Research Future Fund, the Hospital Research Foundation and Flinders Foundation. This has ensured a growing team and never a dull moment.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How did you get into this field?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In Year 11 at high school, I completed a careers quiz which said that my best career option was to be a research scientist. I didn\u2019t like that idea. All I knew about science at that age was school chemistry and physics classes. Luckily, during my university degree (in science!), I discovered biological sciences and realised that science could improve health care, and since graduating, I&#8217;ve focussed on health of the gastrointestinal tract. I started with research related to the stomach during my PhD (for research in developing breath tests for gastric emptying), then moved down to the small intestine during my post-doctoral fellowship (focussing on digestion and food poisoning). Before I knew it, I had worked all the way down to the bottom of the gut for bowel cancer research &#8211; and I&#8217;m very happy that this journey led me to Flinders where I am now surrounded by inspiring researchers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What does a typical day look like for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With about 20 staff, 10 students and many concurrent projects under me, I never know what the day is going to bring. Every minute of the day is interesting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you like to relax?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I love to try new restaurants in Adelaide with friends. I also enjoy reading books, and I love travelling to new countries.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s your proudest achievement?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;m very proud of seeing the achievements of my students and staff, and seeing how our research will improve health care systems and ultimately reduce risk of bowel cancer.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Associate Professor Erin Symonds is leading the national trial of a digitalised colonoscopy database, to help manage growing demand for colonoscopies. She explains why it&#8217;s a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4182,"featured_media":21472,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7560,57368],"tags":[55579,57591],"class_list":["post-21471","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college-of-medicine-and-public-health","category-in-touch-with","tag-associate-professor-erin-symonds","tag-gastroenterology"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>In touch with ... 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