Natasha Tay
Meet the council: Natasha Tay, AMS communications officer
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What is your current area of research?
I study comparative anatomy and my PhD project investigates how hindlimb morphology influences locomotion and escape behaviour in critical weight range marsupials.
Tell us about your background; what made you interested in research?
Coming from a big city like Singapore, I always thought the only way I could work with animals meant becoming a veterinarian. But after doing a couple of clinic placements, I realised I'd much rather work out bush with wildlife. I completed my undergraduate degree in Zoology and Conservation Biology at UWA and spent a lot of time volunteering on projects with research students and WA Parks and Wildlife.
What are some of the highlights from following this career path?
I regularly took time out of study to participate in cool projects. While this means I am at risk of becoming an eternal university student, I have been able to see and work with many different species and ecosystems both in Australia and abroad. I spent some time as a research assistant in South Africa studying leopards. We had a BBC film crew come out to film honey badgers but unfortunately during the week of filming all the honey badgers seemed to have disappeared, typical! The research team had to go into overdrive to find the promised badgers, and so ensued many long days setting up carcasses and scent trails to entice the illusive film stars to make an appearance. I even had to put an impala up a tree! It was a real experience working behind the scenes of a documentary helping set up shots for the filmmakers and despite the overall lack of sleep, it was a really enjoyable and memorable time.
What do you consider are some of your best achievements?
It’s difficult to really pinpoint any big achievements so early in your career, but I am pretty proud of presenting my research to the general public through presentations, news articles and interviews. As someone who has never been fond of public speaking, I am really passionate about encouraging new students to get their work out there. Most recently, I am proud to have organised last year’s SciComm workshop for the AMS conference.
What is your favourite activity in mammal research?
Despite the early mornings and late nights, I really enjoyed cage trapping and measuring of animals in hand. Now that my current research project is mostly lab-based, I don’t spend as much time in the field but I still enjoy helping other research students when I can and taking every opportunity to see our Australian mammals in the wild.
Do you have any advice for other students interested in mammalogy?
In the early days during undergrad and even honours, take every opportunity given to you. It’s so important to work with different people and organisations to learn a variety of methods and topics. But once you’ve embarked on your PhD journey, it’s okay to be more selective when saying “yes”. ????
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