Discovering science of success as Holly achieves PhD dream
Achieving her PhD was a dream 14 years in the making for Rockhampton scientist Holly Hosking – and now she’s using science to help other students realise their study goals too.
Dr Hosking received her PhD – her third degree with CQUniversity – on Thursday 8 May at CQU Mackay Graduation.
The journey to cross the stage began when she did work experience with CQUniversity pharmacology researchers in year 10, and she came home with a firm plan.
“I told my parents – I’m going to get a PhD!” she laughed.
“They weren’t even sure what that meant, but I’d always loved science, and I was so excited – I’d found the perfect way to make curiosity into a career.
"Being the first in my family to go to university was an exciting challenge and I made it my mission to prove to myself that I had what it takes to go all the way through to a PhD."
Dr Hosking first began her studies as a Start Uni Now student at CQU, while completing Year 11 in 2012.
Once she started, she knew she wanted a career in the university sector.
To achieve this dream, Holly completed a Bachelor of Medical Science (Clinical Investigation) with Distinction in 2016 and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) project supervised by Associate Professor Andrew Fenning.
She'd originally met Assoc Prof Fenning while on work experience as a Year 10 student.
Assoc Prof Fenning also supervised Holly’s PhD, with Associate Professor Paul Neilsen and Wayne Pederick.
The research higher degree student set out to assess whether the efficacy of how an individual repaired DNA double-strand breaks, could potentially be used as a screening tool for cancer risk.
“We get DNA damage all the time – from chemicals, from sun exposure, and our body has natural mechanisms to repair the damage," Holly explained.
“But some people repair better than others, and I was interested in what that might mean for cancer susceptibility and cancer recovery."
Holly’s research included a rodent model of DNA double-strand break damage response across the lifespan, an assessment of DNA double-strand break damage response in healthy human volunteers, and a final stage examining repair response in volunteers with a history of cancer.
She found that older rats had significantly more baseline and residual DNA double-strand break damage than younger rats, indicating an age-related decline in DNA repair capacity.
Additionally, in a human study of 45 volunteers, Holly observed that blood samples from males had higher DNA damage levels than females one hour after removal of the chemotherapy which she used to cause the DNA damage.
“I was looking at a very broad range of cancer survivors, so more specific research is needed. But a key finding was that 21 per cent of the cancer survivors I’d identified as ‘negative repairers’, had been diagnosed with cancer before age of 50 whereas there were no participants diagnosed before age 50 that had ‘positive repair’.
While she researched, Holly also made a personal discovery – her passion for helping students succeed.
Working as a research higher degree student mentor, casual academic and School Student Success Advisor while completing her PhD, she saw and experienced the challenges of university study – and the sense of connection and community that often helped students thrive.
"Because I did my work placement here, I had already met a lot of the teaching staff and felt very comfortable entering into university and being able to reach out to staff when needed," she explained.
"I really wanted my own students to have the same experience of feeling welcome and supported, so I made it part of my teaching philosophy to create an open and supportive learning environment for students.
"I had been working as a casual academic and School Student Success Advisor when I decided to use my experiences to help influence institutional change as a Project Manager in the Retention Equity Program."
In that role, Holly realised the real – and rewarding – impacts of student support.
“One of the main drivers for me wanting to go into research, was wanting to make a difference, and improve people’s lives – and when you are working on projects specifically designed for CQU, you’re having an immediate impact on thousands of students."
Holly is looking forward to continuing to share her research findings in scientific journals for other researchers to continue her work.
Now in life after her PhD, Holly will focus on using the research, data analysis and project coordination skills she's developed, to coordinate projects in the Office of Education, Strategy and Quality in her new role as Executive Officer and Coordinator Projects.
“CQUniversity has very much become part of who I am and now that I have graduated, it is very important to me to work on projects that help students feel as connected to the University as I do.”
Explore study and research pathways at CQU'S Study website.
