Congratulations to Dr Juliani from the Cell Death & Survival Laboratory for being awarded the 2025 Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute (ONJCRI) Student Prize.
Dr Juliani recently graduated from La Trobe University and received the 2025 Student Prize in recognition of her significant achievements during her PhD.
Every year, ONJCRI awards a Student Prize to a postgraduate student making important contributions to their field who is close to, or soon after, submission of their PhD.
Dr Juliani published five papers arising from her work, including four first-author outputs: an exceptional achievement for a PhD student. These publications have shed new light on the previously unknown role of the BECLIN1 protein in preserving a strong and selective lining inside the gut.
She worked across complex pre-clinical models, gastrointestinal organoids, biochemical approaches, cell biology, imaging and mechanistic assays.
A major strength of her PhD was the development and application of imaging approaches for visualising organoids: tiny, three-dimensional, self-organising masses of cells grown in a lab that mimic the structure and function of a real human organ.
On top of her brilliant research achievements, she was a generous member of the ONJCRI community, as an active participant in different committees and was the first-ever institute student rider in Tour de Cure’s VIC Discovery Tour 2024.
We asked Dr Juliani a few questions about her experience doing a PhD at ONJCRI.
Tell us about your PhD journey at ONJCRI.
My PhD journey at ONJCRI was shaped by a supportive research group, access to cutting-edge research facilities, and the opportunity to work within a hospital-based research environment.
I spent many hours behind the confocal microscope, attended inspiring seminars, and met people from all walks of life, from researchers and clinicians to patients and supporters of cancer research. These experiences gave me a broader appreciation of the many people involved in advancing medical research.
What was a highlight of your PhD?
A highlight of my PhD was seeing several years of work gradually come together and contribute to our understanding of gut biology. Research is very much a team effort, so it was rewarding to play a small part in a larger body of work.
I also valued opportunities to contribute beyond the lab, including participating in Tour de Cure fundraising initiatives and cycling alongside colleagues in the Tour de Cure VIC Discovery Tour.
What was your favourite part about working in the lab?
My favourite part about working in the lab was that no two days were ever the same. I enjoyed the process of research, from planning and designing experiments, to carrying them out, analysing the results, and figuring out what the findings meant. There is a unique excitement in waiting for the outcome of an experiment, especially after investing days or months of work into it.
At the same time, there is something satisfying about the routine aspects of laboratory work. Tasks like preparing samples, labelling tubes, and pipetting plates can be surprisingly meditative. Of course, every researcher also knows the occasional moment of panic when you lose track of which wells you’ve already pipetted, but those experiences are all part of life in the lab.
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