Anuk Kruawan

Have you heard of the Tasmanian devil?  Don’t you think Tassie devils are so cute? I do and that’s why I have come all the way from Thailand to study them!

I have always been curious about everything, which is why I decided to work in science where you could do all sorts of cool experiments to answer your questions. One of my biggest questions is why we still don’t have a cure for cancers. This question has then led me to study cancer, immunology, and genetics.  But didn’t I just say I study Tassie devils? What does cancer have anything to do with devils? Well, Tassie devils suffer from a very rare type of cancer that can spread from animal to animal, yikes! This rare cancer gives us an invaluable opportunity to understand how it can spread and how we can stop that. This also provides insights into how other types of cancers, such as those found in humans, are super hard to get rid of!

Working with Tassie devils also means that I often get to go out to hang out with them. This makes my job feels like no job at all! When I’m not working in the lab, I normally catch up with my friends for some fun board games. I am also a parent of over 30 houseplants which I spend a fair amount of my time looking after!

Read more about the Tasmanian Devils:

dpipwe.tas.gov.au/wildlife-management/save-the-tasmanian-devil-program

menzies.utas.edu.au/research/diseases-and-health-issues/research-projects/the-immune-response-of-the-tasmanian-devil-and-devil-facial-tumour-disease