A PhD student from The University of Western Australia researching the power of RNA technology to treat cancer has been awarded a 2025 Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship.
Hayley Ingram was one of 17 postgraduate students from across Australia awarded more than $2 million in scholarships to tackle some of the nation’s greatest challenges.
Ms Ingram, who has a love of the great outdoors and travel, grew up the South West town of Collie in Western Australia and attended WA College of Agriculture in Harvey.
“Growing up in a rural area, my high school lacked in-depth science education resources, leaving me as the only student studying biology online,” Ms Ingram said.
Her passion for science grew after she began studying a Bachelor of Biomedical Science at UWA and took classes in biochemistry and genetics.
“I reached out to Professor Archa Fox after attending one of her lectures and she offered me experience in a research laboratory focused on RNA biology,” Ms Ingram said.
Five years later, Ms Ingram is beginning her PhD working in the Australian Centre for RNA Therapeutics in Cancer and Professor Fox is her supervisor.
“RNA therapeutics hold significant promise for treating various cancers including neuroblastoma that develops in children’s nerve cells,” Ms Ingram said.
“My expertise is in RNA design, manufacturing and testing – so I get to do it all.”
Ms Ingram plans to use the scholarship for leadership development, travel to conferences and to meet collaborators in Singapore who are researching RNA structure.
“I was just over the moon because I've worked really hard to get to where I am and it's really nice that it's paid off,” Ms Ingram said.
“Without the scholarship I wouldn't have the opportunities of being able to go overseas and go to these conferences.
“And I'm excited to grow into a leader in RNA therapeutics and give myself the best chance to make a real difference in people's lives.”
Ms Ingram is not sure what the future holds but does have a love of life in academia, especially teaching.
“I get deep satisfaction from seeing that lightbulb moment when a student understands a topic they didn’t really understand before, it really motivates me to see people get excited about science.”