After living in Perth for the past three years, Dr Marie-Anne Burckhardt has headed back home to continue her type 1 diabetes research. We asked her a few questions about her time in Western Australia and what she will miss most.
Job title: Clinical research fellow, Children’s Diabetes Centre at The Kids Research Institute Australia.
Where is ‘home’ normally? Basel, a beautiful city in the northern part of Switzerland. Before I came to Perth I was working with the diabetes and endocrinology teams at the University Children’s Hospital in Basel and Bern.
What drew you to Perth? The opportunity to be part of an internationally recognised team in diabetes research to pursue my interest in diabetes technologies — and the sunshine and beautiful beaches of course!
Areas of expertise? I am very passionate about helping children and young people with type 1 diabetes to improve their lives. I strive to do this through my research in the field of diabetes technology.
Why diabetes? Working with young people with type 1 diabetes is so diverse. It is great to try to transform peoples’ real experiences into improved diabetes care. Anything we can do to help young people with type 1 diabetes to reduce the burden of disease and help them feel as normal as possible is what drives me in my day-to-day work.
Most memorable part of the job? There are lots of good memories: Getting to know wonderful families through my research; making lifelong friends at work; enjoying the sun and having fun at the diabetes camp.
What will you miss most? The research participants and the team. I am really going to miss all the amazing people I met during the years I spent in Perth — and, of course, the endless sunshine, blue sky and beautiful WA beaches.