29 August 2007
A Monash University research fellow has been recognised as one of Australia's leading female scientists.
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| Dr Catriona Bradshaw |
Catriona Bradshaw has been awarded a research fellowship to continue her work exploring the common female genital infection, bacterial vaginosis (BV).
Her current post-doctoral work at Monash University's Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine involves looking at the causes of BV and how it spreads.
Her career choice in sexual health was decided when she volunteered as a visiting medical officer in sexual health and HIV medicine at an African hospital.
Dr Bradshaw suspects that BV may be sexually transmitted and will study the spread of the disease in young women to determine if this is the case.
"While other countries have programs dedicated to exploring bacterial vaginosis, it is still not well understood in Australia," Dr Bradshaw said.
"There is insufficient data about it and more work needs to be done in Australia to discover the causes and effects of BV.
"It's a perfect blend of interesting clinical medicine, infectious diseases and public health, and an opportunity to really make a difference at a population and community level.
Dr Bradshaw said BV was one of the most common genital diseases, affecting at least 10 per cent of women in Australia and other western countries, with far higher numbers in developing countries. It is associated with miscarriage, prematurity, low-birth weight, and increases the risk of acquiring HIV infection and sexually transmitted infections.
The disease is commonly perceived by women and their doctors to be due to an imbalance in the normal vaginal flora, but Dr Bradshaw's studies have shown a pattern more akin to sexually transmitted diseases like chlamydia, with risk factors including multiple sexual partners, new partners and sex work.
Dr Bradshaw was volunteering at a Malawi hospital in 1998 while the African country was in the grip of an HIV epidemic.
She worked at the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in the Central African country's largest city Blantyre for six months, despite criticism from colleagues and teachers about taking time off at that point in her medical career.
She says that when she arrived at the hospital, the community was unable to cope with the influx of STDs. The only person she could find among the staff who actually knew where the STD clinic was located, was a cleaner. When she eventually found the clinic, she was greeted by a line of people snaking away from the door. That experience was the tipping point that determined her career.
Dr Bradshaw is now planning a number of studies to further investigate BV. Initially she plans a study with first-year university students to look at the prevalence of the disease in young women In Australia and its association with specific sexual practices.
This will be followed by a cohort study drawing from the same pool of subjects, which will look at the incidence of BV and other genital infections over a two-year period and their association with sexual practices. Other projects will look at BV in lesbian women.
She is also commencing a trial of new treatment options for this infection.
"Understanding the contribution of sexual transmission to BV is essential to improving current treatments and preventing the complications of BV experienced by women and their children," she says.
Dr Bradshaw balances her research into BV with clinical work as a sexual-health physician at the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic.
"I feel lucky to be able to combine my research with seeing and treating patients," she says. "I can see my research turning into clinical benefits for my patients."
Dr Bradshaw has been recognised for her work in sexual health, receiving one of four inaugural L'Oreal For Women in Science fellowships at an awards ceremony in Melbourne.
The prizes, worth $20,000 each, are designed to support women in scientific research, and can be used for travel, equipment or child-care costs.
For further information, contact Steve Pogonowski, Media Communications, on +61 9905 1253. Photos of Dr Bradshaw are available on request.
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