Dr Jarrod Sandow
Postdoctoral fellow

Describe your job...

I work in the Institute’s proteomics laboratory. We use mass spectrometry to answer biological questions about proteins.

What did you want to do when you were a child?

I was always fascinated by genetics. I even had a collection of newspaper articles about advances that were being made at the time.

What’s one thing most people would be surprised to know about you?

I spent summers on a family farm in outback Queensland branding and castrating cattle.

What’s one thing your parents always told you?

Stop eating so much, you’re sending us broke.

Apart from working at the Institute, what’s the best job you’ve had?

A video store clerk. Back when getting a movie on a Saturday night required human interaction.

Your favourite overseas destination and why?

India. Modern and ancient, crazy and calm, the best and the worst smells in the world.

Who do you most admire?

A research assistant from my Honours lab called Ljiljana. Ljiljana is a refugee from the Bosnian war. She escaped to Australia, taught herself English and volunteered in a lab until she could enroll to study. It taught me not to take anything we have in Australia for granted. And to be understanding and supportive of people trying to flee to Australia for a safer life.