The wonders of science

After years of online learning and lockdowns to avoid a virus, this La Trobe University Honours student now spends all day getting up close and personal with them.

By Anna Knight - Photography by Leon Schoots

At just 22 years old, Abbey Milligan is working on some pretty amazing science. Completing her Honours year at the world-class Holsworth Biomedical Research Initiative in Bendigo, she is part of a multidisciplinary team exploring how we can better understand, prevent and treat diseases. “Growing up, I’d always wanted to be a vet and that’s what my undergrad was,” she says. “But then finding out about Biomedical Science Honours and PhD opportunities in Bendigo, I just got really excited about it. “You’d never normally expect to do this kind of science somewhere other than a big city – and after fan-girling out about Donna Whelan’s work at La Trobe, I was lucky enough that she said ‘yes, join the team!’” The job was a welcome relief after a challenging time away from home for the Bendigo local. “Moving to Melbourne in 2019 to study veterinary science at Melbourne University was a big change. “It was hectic and stressful… I am definitely a country person for sure. Then COVID happened and COVID Melbourne was very different – my only normal undergrad year was 2019. By the time I got used to city life, we all went into lockdown. “It was a weird experience being in lockdown in university halls of residence, and being online for half of my degree was hard. I was less than 100 metres away from the lecture halls but not allowed to attend classes. “But then I found out about the work Donna was doing here in Bendigo and thought ‘yes please!’ and decided to move back here permanently.” What really appealed to Abbey was the interdisciplinary and collaborative nature of the work. “Everyone is collaborating with each other, but also with others outside the team. “When I was thinking ‘what would I be?’ after my studies, my mind was blown by how many things Donna’s team can incorporate into their research – biology, chemistry, physics, and even some engineering with Donna building bespoke microscopes for specific purposes.” When Abbey first joined Dr Donna Whelan’s lab, she decided to focus on viruses and immunology. Not only does she have the opportunity to be part of Dr Whelan’s multidisciplinary lab in Bendigo, but the team also collaborates with Associate Professor Karla Helbig’s molecular virology lab at La Trobe’s Melbourne campus. Now Abbey finds herself spending all day using lasers and a hi-tech microscope to look at the tiny little specks of fat – or organelles – that live in our cells, and has become the lipid droplet’s biggest fan. “I’m obsessed with them; we know they have an important role to play, we just don’t quite know what yet. “I’m now using a super-resolution microscope to look at different interactions within the cells, and we’ve been looking at how lipid droplets behave when a virus is introduced. “The next step is figuring out why they behave that way, and if they have some kind of beneficial effect on the body, then working out how we can harness that. “It’s such a growing, novel field. Previously, no one really thought about lipid droplets as anything more than little fat blobs, but now we’re starting to look at how they might help us understand more about the body’s defences – it’s really cool.” As part of the Holsworth Biomedical Research Initiative, Abbey can work with scientists from many different disciplines, and says this has been one of the most exciting aspects of the work. “I have a much more biology-leaning brain, so I’m trying to absorb as much as I can on the chemistry side. It’s amazing being able to work with chemists and virologists and see how the same thing can be studied from multiple angles. “One of the things that is so appealing about this career pipeline is that it’s so flexible and versatile – you end up doing research into things you’d never heard of before – and by the time I’ve added everything I can to the story, there might be something new to investigate that we don’t even know about yet. “That’s what I love about this work. When you answer one question, it just raises a hundred more.” As for the future, Abbey describes the research as “very dynamic”. “You have a plan, but the further ahead you look the less you know.” For now, she is happy spending her days in the basement room of Dr Whelan’s lab at the Bendigo campus, with the lasers and the lipid droplets, exploring her specific chapter of the bigger story. Abbey has found her passion and, even better, she can pursue it in the place she calls home. “I’ve even started seeing the lights from the super-resolution microscope when I’m looking at other things. “The other day, I saw the Bendigo city lights shining and thought ‘that’s not a great resolution image’… then I realised I was thinking about the blinking lights of the super-res microscope. I guess I’m seeing the world differently now!”