Dr Hilary Martin (2005)
Searching for answers in genes
If there is anyone who could pinpoint the biological roots of her interest in science and data analysis, it would be Dr Hilary Martin herself.
At the risk of re-hashing what is probably a very old joke in the Martin family, where Hilary is a third-generation geneticist, it’s clearly in her DNA.
The Grammar woman has pursued an international career in genetic research and heads her own lab at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge, England. Here, her team works at the forefront of research harnessing large-scale DNA sequencing and comparative analysis to pinpoint genetic variations linked to a range of medical conditions. In particular, Hilary’s team is investigating the origins of neurodevelopmental disorders and complex diseases in South Asian populations.
It was not a path she expected to take, despite her lineage, saying that being chosen to represent BGGS, then Australia at the International Young Physicists’ Tournament two decades ago—under the tutelage of Head of Physics Alan Allinson—first inspired her to look beyond the boundaries of Brisbane. Hilary was the only female to make the national IYPT team, flying to Switzerland to compete and missing a spot in the final by one one-hundredth of a point.
`I found the whole thing terrifying, but I think the fact that I didn’t totally disgrace myself gave me some confidence that I could succeed in a quantitative scientific area and could be competitive internationally,’ she says. `At the tournament, I met students from around the world who then headed off to top universities, which helped encourage me to later apply to Oxford and Cambridge for a PhD.’
`Pay attention in statistics'
- Hilary Martin's life adviceFor Hilary, the chance to study overseas while completing a Bachelor of Science at the University of Queensland, cemented the value of a global outlook.
`I was lucky to have the chance to do a three-month internship at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in New York state, where I realised I really didn’t like wet lab work, so I’d better learn to code if I wanted to stay in the field. I managed to spend the last semester of my degree on an exchange at the University of California, Berkeley, where I really immersed myself in statistical and computational genetics.’
After completing her degree, Hilary pursued a PhD, working with Peter Donnelly (incidentally, also from Brisbane, and educated at a boys’ school just down the road from BGGS) at the Wellcome Centre for Human Genetics in Oxford on an eclectic set of projects from sequencing human genetic disorders, to analysing platypus DNA.
Studying and working overseas has allowed her access to cutting edge data sets and tools which may not have been available in Australia.
Reflecting on her journey, Hilary says if there is one thing she would impress upon Girls Grammar students of today, it’s to embrace their inner (and outer) nerds.
`If you’re that geeky kid who’s always last to be chose for the softball team in PE, hang in there. I was too. Have faith that you will find your crowd.’
And pay attention in statistics classes.
`You may think questions about rolling dice—the typical high school introduction to probability— are boring, but in this new world, where `data science’ is king and AI is making many jobs redundant, you should learn as much statistics and coding as you can.’
In saying this, she does admit to not always following her own advice to the letter.
`I have many fond memories, particularly, of Mr Bland, who taught me Maths C and put up with a lot of nonsense from me and my friends—I remember a particular incident with a potato gun. He was a brilliant teacher who knew when to allow us to let off steam and when to crack the whip.’
Hilary at Oxford with her father Nick and husband Stein
Graduation day in Oxford with Stein and Hilary's mother Gorgia