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Dr Catherine Theys Dr Catherine Theys is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Speech and Hearing and co-directs the Speech-Language Neuroscience Lab, Te Puna Pūtaiao Ioio at the University of Canterbury. She studies the relationship between brain functioning and communication problems. Her research aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of developmental (e.g., stuttering) and acquired (e.g., following stroke and Parkinson’s disease) speech problems. Catherine graduated from KU Leuven (Belgium) with a MSc in Speech Therapy and Audiology and a PhD in Biomedical Sciences. Why did you decide to become a researcher? “I have always enjoyed sciences and languages and wanted to do a job where I could help people. As speech therapy ticked all those boxes, it was the obvious choice for me. During my studies, I became intrigued by how the brain works – and the effects that changes in the brain have on communication. I also realised that there is so much that we still need to learn to be able to better help people with speech and language disorders. That is when I decided to become a researcher.” Dr Kyla Horne Dr Kyla-Louise Horne holds a PhD in Neuropsychology with clinical experience in Parkinson’s disease. She completed her PhD at the University of Canterbury in 2018 and then began a two-year Brain Research New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. Currently she is developing an advanced MRI-derived model of brain ageing to track disease progression in Parkinson’s disease and working with Prof Simon Lewis at the University of Sydney to examine hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease. She is also actively involved in both local and national health research networks. What advice would you offer young people (specifically females) looking to start a career in the science/ research field? “I would encourage all young people to give it a go. Science is a wonderful field to work in as it is very diverse and can lead to many different rewarding career options, some of which may not be obvious from the outset. My advice is to figure out what interests you and then talk to people about it. This may look like going to public talks or watching videos on youtube about science, health or our world, or you may want to ask some people who are older then you what they do for a job and how they got to where they are today.” Women in Science: Christchurch 12 February 6.30 – 8.30 pm The Tannery, Metropolitan Room, 3 Garland Road For more information and to get a ticket please visit wis2020-christchurch. lilregie.com or call our head office at 0508 BRAINS (0508 272 467). 6 Headlines