Meet Guddu Kaur, PhD candidate and Research Fellow with the Masters of Applied Epidemiology program at the Australian National University. Here she talks outbreaks, being adaptable, and what it was like being an FW–sponsored mentee in last year’s Mentoring Program (applications open now!) 

What is your current role and how did you get to be there?

I currently work as a Research Fellow and am a PhD candidate at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health (NCEPH) at ANU in the Masters of Applied Epidemiology (MAE) program.

I had planned to be a clinical psychologist during undergrad, but fate intervened, and I found myself interested in global health and epidemiology in particular.

This led to a Masters in Global Health followed by happenstance a role developing early warning systems for avian influenza in Bangladesh.

The rest was winding paths working as an applied epidemiologist across the world. After more than a decade, I returned to Australia in 2021. I eventually landed a role with the MAE program, training applied epidemiologists. 

How does your work contribute to the field? 

As a Research Fellow I work to train the next cohorts of applied epidemiologists who will be responsible for keeping Australia safeguarded against the next outbreak and/or pandemic. But as a PhD candidate I am working to understand what longstanding workforce training programs such as the MAE program have achieved since 1991. Applied epidemiologists, like many professionals in the public health space, are guilty of being too humble at times. I am hoping to shed some light on just how much impact this little program has had on how we do public health work nationally and in the region.  

What is a project you would love to get off the ground or a skill you would like to develop, if you had the opportunity? 

There’s no shortage of work that needs to be done. I would like to keep increasing existing applied epidemiology training into the larger public health workforce to ensure our surge capacity remains strong in emergencies. We know that skill retention is difficult for epidemiologists as they move further into senior positions. It will be important to work on reskilling those already out there.   

Congratulations! You recently participated in the Franklin Women Mentoring Program through a Franklin Women sponsored position. Could you tell us a bit about what this career development opportunity meant for you? 

The Mentoring Program came at exactly the right time for me. Having come back to Australia and having had a very non-traditional path into academia with few guideposts around me, I really struggled to find my place. Being thrown into a room with other women who were at their own crossroads showed me I am not alone. Also, having a mentor who was willing to walk alongside me has been invaluable. My mentor did not solve my problems but was an unbiased ear who gave me the confidence to take the actions I needed to get where I wanted to. 

What are your loves outside of work?

If I did not like applied epidemiology so much, I think I would be in the creative arts, my other love. The imagination, the expression, the ability to make things as a team and bring ideas to life. What’s not to love? 

What is one piece of advice you could pass onto others following their own career in health and medical research sector? 

I think there are three things I have found both useful and true. The first is to try your best to be adaptable. The world is always changing and there will always be challenges, but I think the most useful thing I have found that has served me well is to be adaptable. The second piece of advice is just keep taking one step at a time. Setbacks happen to everyone (even if it doesn’t seem that way), and life can feel really hard sometimes, but you just keep taking a step at a time and eventually you’ll get to where you need to be. And lastly, find the people you align with. It will make life so much easier!