A scientist at The University of Western Australia advancing research in nanotechnology to reprogram cells and revolutionise medicine has been recognised with a prestigious science Fellowship.
Forrest Fellow Dr Jessica Kretzmann, from UWA's School of Molecular Sciences, has been awarded a L'Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship, a program that celebrates exceptional female scientists from Australia and New Zealand.
"I'm honoured to be one of four women to be recognised with a Fellowship for their research and leadership," Dr Kretzmann said.
"I am deeply passionate about mentoring younger women in STEMM and currently lead a team of two PhD students and five Masters' students.
"Seeing science spark curiosity, especially in young minds from rural and underrepresented communities, inspired me to regularly lead outreach programs."
Dr Kretzmann engineers DNA origami – folded DNA structures that enable the precise design and creation of nanoparticles of any size and shape with unprecedented control.
Her research harnesses nanoscale tools to reprogram cells to enable transformative applications ranging from improved regenerative medicine to personalised therapies.
"We aim to understand how we can use the nanoparticle structure to affect its activity and behaviour in cells, and advance bio-nanotechnology and cell biology to engineer functional nanomaterials," Dr Kretzmann said.
"By mapping how DNA origami behaves inside cells, we can help engineer smarter medical treatments."
Dr Kretzmann is a National Health and Medical Research Council Emerging Leader, an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award winner, a Humboldt Fellowship recipient and a Fulbright Scholar.
Since 1998, the Fellowship program has championed equality and visibility of women in STEMM, awarding each Fellow $25,000 to further their research, with the flexibility to use the funding in ways that matter most to them.
