Charlett Giuliani is proof that women can do it all.
The 38-year-old Tarneit resident, PhD student and mother of three has just received a scholarship from Graduate Women Victoria (GWV) for her innovative cancer research.
Ms Giuliani is the first Victoria University student to receive $7000 under the GWV’s William and Elizabeth Fisher scholarship – the highest amount of all scholarships to be awarded by the organisation this year.
The former nurse is doing ground-breaking research into breast cancer treatment.
In particular, she is looking into inhibitors that slow or prevent cancer cells; these can be used in future cancer treatment as an alternative to high doses of chemotherapy.
Ms Giuliani said the research would also likely be applicable to other types of cancer.
“I don’t accept that we’re doing as well as we could with cancer treatment,” she said.
“We’ve come a long way, but I think the treatment is very debilitating to a lot of people and needs to be improved.
“When you see a person who has lost their hair and that kind of thing … that’s the treatment, not the cancer.
“The high doses of radiation we administer to young cancer sufferers, for example, can lead to unintended effects in later years, such as heart damage.”
Ms Giuliani, who said she was very humbled by the scholarship, attributed her success to lots of late nights and weekend work.
“Many mothers give up on their dreams and aspirations for their families and it can take courage to put oneself first for a change,” she said. “It’s nice to know that the hard work has been acknowledged. I’m very flattered.”
