Entry 01-The adventure begins!

I’ve been dreaming of coming to Australia for so long now that it’s still hard to believe this is real! My partner and I arrived on the 2nd of October and we have spent the last month exploring as much as possible while settling into my new lab. In this first post, I’ll cover some highlights from my time in Australia and share what I’ll be doing over the next several months as a Fulbright postdoctoral scholar.

Our first view of our new home: Adelaide!

A Warm Welcome

I am so grateful for all of those who have made us feel instantly welcomed and supported here in Australia. My postdoc advisor, along with his family, friends and lab, have all made us feel right at home. I cannot thank them enough for everything they have done for us! We had a home to stay in when we arrived and folx to show us around the city and answer all of our questions. We even had folx provide and transport nearly all of the furniture we needed without ever having met us. To say that the Australians we have met are kind, generous, and welcoming is a huge understatement! I’m grateful to have met such wonderful people, and I’m excited to pay this kindness forward as I move through this experience and beyond.

Exploring Adelaide

Adelaide is stunningly beautiful (as you can see from the photo above), with breathtaking views of the ocean and the surrounding foothills and hills. On our first night in Adelaide, we joined my postdoc advisor and his friends and family on the beach for a sunset picnic. It was hard to believe this was something we would be able to do whenever we wanted (and I think it’s still sinking in that this is our home now). In the week leading up to the start of my Fulbright, we went on several bushwalks through the nearby Watiparinga Reserve, and even saw a koala (see video below)! We also checked out the Adelaide Central Market, where you can find delicious food from many different cultures. I had what was maybe the best massaman curry I’ve ever had in my life and I’m excited to continue trying foods from around the world. We also made a trek up to Hahndorf, a German village 25 minutes outside of Adelaide, where I enjoyed some amazing cabbage rolls that reminded me of my Grammy’s halupkies! And of course we’ve cooked food on the barbie, including kangaroo sausages. The food and sights have been incredible and I am so excited to continue exploring more!

The first koala (of hopefully many) of my Fulbright!

The Festival State

South Australia is known as the Festival State, so Adelaide is, of course, the Festival City, which means there is always a ton going on here! The first festival we checked out was the OzAsia Festival, including the delightful Moon Lantern Trail and Lucky Dumpling Market. It ended up being the perfect day to go because it was cool and rainy, which kept the lines short. We tried several unique dumpling and noodle dishes from around Asia, each one flavorful and delicious. I particularly loved the vegan ice cream inspired by Middle Eastern flavors from Sassi Ice Cream. The next weekend we went to the Sea to Shore Glenelg Seafood Festival, trying grilled octopus, curry tuna, and, of course, fish and chips. Finally, this past weekend we visited the Fork On the Road foodtruck festival in Seaford, where we listened to live music and sampled foods like Turkish Gozleme, paella and waffles-on-a-stick. If you can’t tell, I’m obsessed with the food here! I love that there is always something new to try and great people to share these experiences with.

Here we are at the OzAsia Festival Lucky Dumpling Market.

My Fulbright Beginnings

You may be wondering what brought me all the way to Australia in particular. I became fascinated by the mechanisms driving social monogamy in animals while studying abroad in Kenya with the School for Field Studies. I noticed we always saw black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) in pairs and wondered why they formed long-term pair bonds with a single mate. At the time, I was conducting research with reptiles and amphibians and I naively thought they weren’t social enough to form pair bonds, so I moved on to studying monogamous mammals. As a graduate student, I studied the neurobiology of monogamy in coppery titi monkeys (Plecturocebus cupreus; see monkey picture below) and found two hormones in particular, oxytocin and vasopressin, play important roles in female social bonds. I wondered if similar mechanisms drove pair bonding in other species, particularly non-mammalian species. Through my research I learned that Australian sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa; see lizard picture below) also form pair bonds and I began reading as much as I could about these fascinating creatures. In late 2020, I reached out to Professor Mike Gardner at Flinders University, a molecular ecologist studying host/parasite interactions between sleepy lizards and native ticks (among many other things—check out his lab here: https://gardnerschwarzlab.com/). We began brainstorming project ideas and when I received the Fulbright Future Scholarship (Funded by the Kinghorn Foundation) to study sleepy lizards with his lab it was truly a dream come true!

Broadly, I’m hoping to begin understanding the hormonal mechanisms driving pair bonding in sleepy lizards and open the door for many future studies on the neurobiology of reptilian monogamy. My goal is to train students to measure hormones in samples we collect (urine and blood) as well as how to pharmacologically manipulate hormones to understand the roles they play in social behavior. At the same time, I want to continue learning inclusive pedagogical practices. I’m starting by participating in courses by Your Mob Learning (https://www.yourmoblearning.org/) to learn more about Indigenous Australian culture. I’m excited to take what I learn here and apply it in all of my future endeavors.

As I continue on my Fulbright journey, I’ll post updates and share what I’ve been learning. If you’re curious about the Fulbright program or what I’m doing, feel free to reach out! I’m always happy to chat. Thanks for reading!