Interview with Georgia Fisher

Georgia Fisher is a 25-year old physiotherapist, scientist and PhD candidate from Sydney. She has been studying clinical features and treatment options of neglect since 2015, when she was in the final year of her bachelor’s degree in physiotherapy. Today, Georgia Fisher presented her current project on proprioception and functional impairment in unilateral neglect after stroke in the Young Stroke Physicians and Researchers’ Design Workshop for Studies in Development.

How did you get involved in stroke research and why did you choose this topic?

When I was working clinically, I saw many patients with the condition that I study and I saw that the outcomes were really bad. Then I started searching the literature for possible treatments, and I found not much. I talked to my colleagues and seniors, who also implicated that we couldn’t do much for these patients. So, I wanted to help.

What have been the most difficult challenges regarding your career so far?

Getting the ethical application for my project has been arduous. Since I needed the ethical approval to get started with my PhD thesis, I had to make some compromises in the study design, for instance the age limitation.

Another challenge is making the relevance of my research clear to the clinicians, bridging the gap between designing research and clinical practice.

How is your work life balance?

(laughs) It is good currently. I work clinically one day a week, and I do the PhD four days a week. I must also say that I enjoy my work, so that I don’t mind, if the working days are longer.

And I like the place, where I am living. There are many beaches in Sydney, so it’s easy to keep a pleasent work life balance.