Priya Rao is referring to the microscopic Plasmodium, the parasite that causes malaria and her obsession is a lasting one, giving her a lifelong goal: to become a researcher in this field.

After growing up in Zambia and getting her undergraduate degree in India, Priya knew what she wanted to do. That led to the Master of Science (Advanced) in Quantitative Biology and Bioinformatics at ANU, which she describes as “basically a cocktail of biology with mathematics, statistics, and computer science.”

Coming to ANU

ANU let Priya combine her interests into the degree, including the computational skills she sees as vitally important for a researcher. Unable to find another university that would offer such flexibility, her choice was simple.

“I already had a clear idea of what I wanted to do, and I searched for universities all over the world – it wasn’t just Australia. ANU came into the picture and I moved all the way to Australia because of the University – it had exactly what I needed.

Moving across the world was as big an adjustment as you’d expect, but Priya found Australia was quite similar to Africa in terms of the weather and the natural life, which made things easier. Plus, she quickly got used to life in Canberra.

“Canberra is the perfect blend of a bit of city and country, and I really appreciate that. It feels like a little cocoon now; after living here, it’s just my second home.”

Working closely with world-recognised experts

Priya has had the opportunity to work alongside and learn from world-leading academics – like the ones pushing forward malaria research .

“The faculty here is amazing. Just learning from them and, besides the academic stuff, going and talking to them, they’re very down to earth and ready to help you.”

In contrast to her previous university experience, Priya has had much more access to the academics and researchers during her time at ANU.

“The relationship that a student has with a supervisor, or a professor – it’s very casual here. And that’s one thing that I really like, I don’t have to hesitate before troubling them with questions because they’re there to help you. Because of that, I’m able to explore and satisfy my curiosity. That was one surprising element, and a good surprise.”

Priya says at times her degree has been rather challenging.

Priya's advice and reflection

“I won’t say it was a very easy journey because, considering the level of the University, it was draining – but draining in a good way. You just need to buckle up and when the semester begins, or when your research begins, you need to power through that. Because the reward at the end is quite good.”

Priya’s research is almost complete. After it’s done, she’s looking to do a PhD and from there continue trying to unravel that beautiful parasite

“But if that doesn’t happen, I know that I won’t stop there. There’s this whole new field that’s opened up to me just because of the skills that I have acquired at ANU.”