Navigating my career in lipid research

Abstract

THE STARTMy journey really didn't start until I enrolled in a PhD in the Biochemistry Department at the University of Melbourne in 1965, although little did I know at the time that I would end up having a 55+ year career in nutrition. I chose to enrol for a PhD on essential fatty acids (EFA) although offerings in the Departments of Microbiology or Botany were equally of interest. One of life's hindsight moments: why didn't I investigate the merits of the projects in all three disciplines? My interest in biochemical metabolism was stimulated by the fascinating biochemistry lectures in the 3rd and 4th year of an Agricultural Science degree at the same university; this 4-year course covered a wide range of topics with the final year of eight subjects offering a wide range of career options for the graduates. My family connection to agriculture was through both my grandfathers (maternal grandfather owned an orange farm and my paternal grandfather was into agricultural education), though these links were not the reason I chose Ag Sciencerather it was to do a course with lots of options after graduation. A highlight of my PhD time, aside from forming lifelong friendships with other graduate students, was being involved in a multidisciplinary investigation of the first case of EFA deficiency in an adult human [1].My story is largely about multi-disciplinary collaborations and mentoring, a long, but extremely rewarding journey, having met so many talented, generous and mostly compatible people, many of whom are still friends. Speaking of friends, I must mention Robert (Bob) Gibson, my best friend, whom I have known since 1976; we have researched in complimentary areas, and it has been such a pleasure to chat to him over the years about nutrition, lipids, football and many other matters. How lucky are we to have had this long connection. Together we ran two very successful international fatty acid congresses which drew many visitors to Adelaide in 1992 [2] and to Cairns in 2006 [3].I cannot pretend that what follows is a coherent pattern of research, apart from working mostly in the field of lipids, but rather it is a blend of goal-oriented research as well as a series of opportunistic endeavours often based on what funding opportunities were available.