Have I followed my dream since high school?

Throughout high school I was torn between two passions – history and chemistry. These interests were fostered by having two fantastic teachers that helped shape who I would become: Mr Brame in Chemistry and Ms Webster in Ancient/Extension History.

By the time the HSC had rolled around, I was still not sure what I wanted to do – effectively a coin flip led me down the path to chemistry, specifically forensic chemistry.

To be honest, part of this was spurred on by the various Crime Scene Investigation shows that were proliferating on television at the time.

At university I completed my undergraduate and graduate diplomas at the University of Technology, Sydney, in their Centre for Forensic Science. My PhD focussed on forensic toxicology and drug testing, and though I found the research fascinating, my passion for the field had become dulled. As such, I expanded my search following graduate school, and found various options that spoke to more deeply to me, and ultimately I found something more exciting that, to me, has bigger applications in the wider world.

What I'm doing now and how I got here

At the time of writing, I am a Research Assistant with the University of Queensland, specifically with the Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS).

I was hired only earlier this year to assist with the brand new Minderoo Centre – Plastics and Human Health project. This collaborative effort concerns itself with the health effects of micro- and nano-plastics, plastic products that through either design or degradation have entered the nano-sized realm (to put it into perspective, some plastic particles we are looking at are smaller than some viruses)!

What makes this work even more interesting is that these nano-sized plastics, and the chemical additives that exist alongside them, have poorly understood effects on the human body – a big concern in an increasingly polluted world. Concerns about whether these nano-particles can travel from the blood into various organs, accumulate in the body, or have long-lasting health effects are just a few questions that drive our research forward.

It might seem like I have taken a big leap from forensic science to analytical/environmental chemistry, and it was. During the time after my PhD, I followed my now-husband to Stockholm, Sweden, where he would undertake a postdoctoral fellowship at Stockholm University, in the Department of Archaeology and Classical Studies. I guess I did get to follow my passion for ancient history in a roundabout way.

Whilst in Sweden, we enjoyed pickled herring, trips to the original IKEA, beautiful historical city scapes, and wonderful treks through the idyllic Scandinavian countryside.

During this, I found employment at Stockholm University, in the Department of Analytical and Environmental Chemistry (known then as ACES). There I became a Research Assistant, undertaking sample preparation and data analysis for the detection of chemicals known as PFASs, sometimes referred to as forever chemicals. In short, they do not break down in the environment, and consequently build up in ecosystems, and ultimately have poorly understood effects on living organisms.

The work at ACES was thoroughly fascinating, and I was also lucky to be working with a fantastic and knowledgeable team. However, all good things must end, in this case with Covid-19 rearing its ugly head. The pressure of “Covid tid” (“Covid time”, in Swedish) necessitated a quick return to Australia, bringing us to Queensland, where my parents had retired to some years prior. After only a few months back, I was lucky enough to be pointed in the direction of a new job opening at QAEHS, and now here we are.

Some of our achievements in life so far

This is a tricky one, though thankfully I was able to get some help from my husband 😊

Publishing articles and book chapters in both my own research field and in that of my husband
Travelling around the world for conferences and fun (including Switzerland, Thailand, Japan, USA, Sweden, Finland, Poland, and Scotland)
Being able to finally buy an apartment and be able to settle down
Becoming a passionate home cook. In its own way, cooking is chemistry for hungry people 😊

Special moments from school

There are many, many fond memories of high school, though I do admit as time marches on, some of them have faded. Overall, the best part of high school was having great friends; sharing silly jokes and made-up games in the TAS Quad during recess and lunch is the most special memory. That and one of my friends having a pitch-perfect pigeon impersonation (was absolutely never, ever used to drive certain teachers crazy).

Teachers, too, make up a big chunk of what made high school special. There were the zany stories and pop culture lessons in chemistry from Mr Brame, the deep discussions between the class with Ms Webster in Ancient/Extension History, and the occasional chaos with Mr Hopwood in English. That’s just the tip of the iceberg.

At the end of the day, it was the people that helped make high school something memorable. Perhaps the most interesting example of this is how people change over the years – people that I was once inseparable from have slowly drifted away, and others have re-emerged from the fog after years. It has been a joy to reconnect with them, and in turn, share our memories of high school.

Nathan Charlton

Graduating Class of 2004 - Cecil Hills High School

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