Budding doctor Georgina Prassas has Harvard University in her grasp, to top off her illustrious scholastic career already in the field of medicine. Prassas is just days away from finding out if the prestigious university will accept her application to study there, but assures us she has received promising feedback so far.
If chosen, she will complete an elective in Paediatric Haematology / Oncology at the Children’s Hospital Boston through Harvard Medical School, which she says would be “a unique and exclusive privilege”.
Hailing from Sydney, Prassas moved to Melbourne five years ago when she was accepted to study a Bachelor of Medicine at the University of Melbourne. As part of her undergraduate degree, she went to Sydney to research oncology at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute, under the supervision of Professor John Boyages. During her time there, she developed a strong passion to continue her work and research in this field.
As a mentor, Professor Boyages encouraged Prassas to pursue a career in haematology and oncology.
“With oncology, it is an amazing privilege to be able to be given an entree into the lives of the people suffering from cancer as it is such a tragic disease to suffer from and it affects so many people,” says Prassas on why she has chosen to focus on the areas of haematology and oncology.
“To be able to offer any kind of consolation into that respect, and as well as to do some background research into the ideology of cancer, to me is the great privilege.”
Prassas’ background in this field far surpasses her medical career thus far. She worked alongside Professor Chris Hamilton, Director of Olivia Newton John Cancer Centre, at the Austin Hospital, working in paediatrics and children’s health through Make a Wish Foundation, where she works as a volunteer granting wishes to children with terminal illnesses.
She also volunteers at a local housing commission tutoring mathematics and English. On top of that, she is in her final two weeks of her undergraduate degree and in the height of her exam period, she is one busy lady.
To complement her passion for child’s health and her passion for both haematology and oncology, Prassas got in touch with Professor Alan Michelson who is the Professor of Paediatrics at Harvard Medical School as well as the executive director at the Children’s Boston Hospital.
“It would be a fantastic opportunity to then work and study at Harvard University; it would enable me to pursue my career at the highest possible level and to partake in their tradition of learning and disseminating knowledge,” she says. Prassas says that the opportunity to study at the elite university would “encourage critical thinking, intellectual curiosity and scientific inquiry”.
“I think those three things are what would make a sound basis for lifelong learning and doctoring.”
For a medical career, Prassas will continue down the path she has set herself.
“I think there is a lot of room in oncology for research and I am a strong believer in the background role of research into propelling medicine and our knowledge and understanding and that’s quite an appealing factor for me.”