Amy Brown

Current position: Radiation Therapist

Years qualified as an RT: 8

Research areas of interest: Prostate Cancer; Head and Neck cancer; IGRT; Quality of Life

Research qualifications: Currently enrolled in Research Masters through QUT.

What is your greatest research achievement?

Success in a Health Professional Research Scheme funding round through Queensland Health – after three previous attempts!

Why and how did you get involved in research?

I volunteered to be involved in a small study to implement fiducial markers within our department in 2007, and soon found my love for research.

How do you balance research/work/family life?

Time management is key – knowing what you can realistically achieve in a spare 5 minutes, 50 minutes or 5 hours (if you should be so lucky!)

What was your supervisor’s best advice?

Think of research questions that you can answer through everyday practice – i.e. questions you can answer with data that is already collected.

What do you enjoy most about being involved in research?

I really enjoy thinking through some of our biggest challenges in Radiation Oncology, and how we might be able to address them with evidence, to achieve the best outcomes for our patients.

What has been your biggest challenge or barrier to being involved in research?

Fitting it all in!

What one piece of advice would you give other researchers?

Make the most of networking. Get to know what others are researching, and how you may be able to collaborate with them. Use conferences and seminars as an opportunity to network with others. Share your research at multidisciplinary meetings, in broader oncology and healthcare settings – you never know where that might lead.