When David McMillan’s parents asked what he wanted to do for his 10th birthday – he had one simple request “to visit the lab of Dr Noa at Children’s Medical Research Institute’’.
David has had a life-long fascination with science so when they heard about the Meet and Greet a Scientist Powerhouse Museum Science Family Day back in August, they took him and his sister Ariel along.
“He’s had a long-term interest in science, probably since he was about five, and this was the first time he’d been able to speak to a scientist,’’ dad Peter said. “He’s always loved to read books and watch science shows like Science Max or Myth Busters. He was so excited to meet Noa and talk to her. She was so engaging which is why I think David wanted to go and see her lab.’’
Dr Noa Lamm-Shalem is head of the Nuclear Dynamics Group at CMRI. They are focused on how cells attempt to re-organise due to stress to learn more about DNA damage, repair, and cancer development.
She said it was wonderful to have David and his sister Ariel show interest in her work, so she invited them into her lab to learn about her work and even perform a strawberry DNA extraction.
David said he would like to become a cancer researcher one day and loved visiting the lab.
“I love learning about cells and how the human body can be a danger to itself – it is really interesting.’’