Interview with Joachim Torrano
 | Joachim Torrano is a PhD student at the Frazer Institute, The University of Queensland. His PhD program focuses on spatial molecular profiling of normal skin, acquired melanocytic naevi and melanoma to investigate mechanisms and markers for disease progression. His PhD is supervised by A/Prof Mitchell Stark, Prof Peter Soyer, Dr Harald Oey, and Dr Dilki Jayasinghe. |
What experiences or background influenced your decision to pursue a PhD?
I am the first of my close family to attend university, which began with self-funded studies in Journalism that later pivoted to studying Medicine at the University of Otago in New Zealand. I developed a passion for academia during my Bachelors of Biomedical Science and after completion in 2015 I was invited to participate in a summer scholarship doing melanoma research. This led to an MPhil program, that in turn became a Research Technician position, which then led to my PhD. Among many other influences driving this trajectory, one I’d like to share would be that my passion and gratitude for academia remains with me still, and completing a PhD is what I see as the best way to contribute and ‘give back’ to academia.
What is the focus of your PhD research?
The focus of my PhD research is looking at similarities and differences between melanoma and normal moles on the skin. I benefit from a lot of pre-existing data across several years of clinical research, and am also conducting a new clinical study to collect even more data to build upon. This includes demographic, genetic, imaging, questionnaire and other kinds of data from people at high risk of melanoma, in order to better understand how we can prevent it.
What has been the most rewarding part of your PhD journey so far?
I have had the good fortune to develop myself professionally in a great number of ways, but most importantly my PhD program, more than anything else, has given me a unique, irreplaceable confidence in specific areas that would have been unobtainable otherwise. Also, a heart-stopping amount of free coffee.
What challenges have you faced during your PhD, and how did you overcome them?
I have had to deal with significant issues at home throughout my PhD, and one challenge that warrants special mention is the effects on mental health that can come with the strain of a PhD program. There can be a shift in lifestyle that comes with doing a PhD, that can erode one’s energy, free time, sleep patterns and/ or social relationships. I try to remember to keep a healthy work-life balance and to take care of myself and the people around me.
What skills have you gained during your PhD that you didn’t expect to develop?
I can’t really claim these skills, but I am proud to have gotten better at knowing when to speak at a formal meeting (and how much to speak!). Also, playing chess at an above-average level.
Have you had the opportunity to collaborate with other researchers, locally or internationally?
I have enjoyed multiple opportunities to collaborate with researchers and clinicians, in the form of workshops, clinical studies, publications and more, throughout my PhD program. Many other ACEMID students and I have met with and had the opportunity to collaborate with researchers, industry professionals, dermatologists and other clinicians from Australia, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Austria, and the US.
