Name: Katerina Damyanova
Degree: PhD of Biological Sciences and Reproductive Biology
Could you tell me a bit about your PhD and why you decided to study one?
I am originally from Bulgaria and did my undergrad in the UK. I studied four years in Cardiff, and at the end of that I knew I really enjoyed research. An area I find interesting is reproductive health and, more specifically, female reproductive health. I did my Masters in reproductive science in Edinburgh. My first project was to do with heavy menstrual bleeding, and I was really interested in that. I thought I could pursue a research career and looked into different PhDs. I was applying for programs all over the place and wasn’t necessarily looking to move to Australia. But I came across a project, had a chat with the supervisor. I really liked her, and I thought the project was really interesting. It was on koala fertility conservation, looking at stem cells. It was more on the male side of things, also wildlife and not human. But I knew it would still be really valuable experience. The PhD is a total of three and a half years and I’m about halfway through.
How have you found your time in Australia?
It’s already been a year and nine months since I’ve moved here. Honestly, I’ve loved it, I could even see myself staying longer after my PhD. The people I’ve met since moving have been very welcoming and friendly, and I just love the warm weather. Having spent five years in the UK I was ready for a change. I love Scotland, but I don’t think I could live there longer. The campus is beautiful as well, and I love the beach. I’ve definitely enjoyed my time here, but I have to say winter is not my favourite. I do think I would like to stay here in Australia, I’ve been to Brisbane a few times now and I love it. I’ll visit Melbourne and Adelaide, I’m sure I’ll love them as well. But I think if I was to choose for the moment it would be Brisbane.
What are some memories from Bulgaria where you grew up?
I would still say Bulgaria is one of the most beautiful countries out there. It’s in Eastern Europe, we have four seasons, we have it all. Hot summer, cold winter, snow, beautiful mountains, seaside. In terms of nature, it’s absolutely fascinating. I would recommend anyone visit. My family lives there, I have heaps of friends there. But I didn’t really see career opportunities for me in the area I was interested in. The lifestyle isn’t quite what I was looking for. Having travelled outside, I probably don’t have it in me to move back there.
Why did biological science interest you so much?
In school, I liked chemistry and biology and was pretty good at math. Both my parents are engineers, I went to a math oriented high school, and Bulgaria has a lot of specialised high schools. I thought for a while I would do something math related, but it didn’t seem like something I’d want to do for the rest of my life. Whereas chemistry and biology were very interesting to me. At the same time, the very obvious choice for a career in Bulgaria would have been medicine, or pharmacy. But I always knew I didn’t want to be a doctor, even though my aunt is a doctor. I didn’t think I would pursue chemistry or biology but then I started to look outside for courses abroad. I came across oncology, which seemed interesting in terms of seeing how drugs actually act in the organism, finding cures for different diseases, stuff like that. I thought that would be something I’ll keep finding fascinating and hopefully don’t get bored of.
As someone who has studied a lot, what has helped you get through uni?
A huge part of my uni experience has been volleyball. I started playing as a kid, not super competitively. But moving into my first uni, I levelled up a little. As it’s a team sport, you really get to bond with people. For all the unis I’ve been to there’s been a huge volleyball community. There are the men’s teams, the women’s teams. There are social events, you get to hang out with everyone. It’s also a very international sport. In the UK and here it’s not that huge, so you get a lot of Europeans playing. Also from this semester, I joined the Music Society and the Latin Dance Society, so definitely joining clubs and sports. In my case sports has always been huge. It’s helped immensely. My advice would be joining all the clubs you are remotely interested in.
