Page 26 - Luce 2016

College M emories

memories from
2010s

Honor Coleman and Catherine Wheller
JCH Alumnae Honor Coleman (2009) and Catherine Wheller (2009) caught up with former Director of Studies, Records Keeper and
Resident Tutor Jack Tan (2009) for a chat about their research at the University and also to reminisce about the good old days at JCH.

Catherine Wheller and Honor Coleman

Honor Coleman and Catherine Wheller

Honor and Catherine, both originally epilepsy, and who have undergone with the remote locations allowing for
from Tasmania, came to live at Janet neurosurgery. She is interested in her her passion in astrophotography.
Clarke Hall while doing their Bachelor patients’ adjustment process and how
of Science degrees. Throughout their they look back and attempt to make For Honor, her research on
undergraduate days, they remained meaning of it. neuropsychology shifts the existing
close friends, a bond which continued medical emphasis from being physically
into their postgraduate years. Both these young researchers see healthy to becoming psychologically
lots of potential in their research. For healthy as well. She enjoys following
Currently a PhD candidate in Geology, Catherine, geology is at the forefront up with her patients over the years to
Catherine is investigating the formation of the Australian economy, not only track their improvement post-surgery.
and evolution of metamorphic for the mining industry, but also in One interesting part of Honor’s work
rocks. Her fieldwork is focused on seeking out alternative energy sources. is to keep tabs on patients who were
Madagascar, and the month she spent She is humbled by her study of rock originally treated by her own supervisor
there in 2014 was an unforgettable formations, where she is constantly twenty years ago. She thus gets to read
experience, where the villages she reminded of the need to take care the notes her supervisor took whilst she
stayed at were in some of the remotest of the Earth because it will not last was a postgraduate student herself!
parts of the world and the villagers were forever.
some of the kindest people. Catherine and Honor have come a long
Keen for her work to reach out to a way since meeting as undergraduates at
Honor credits a best selling book, wider audience, Catherine has taken JCH in 2009. Speaking fondly of their
Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook part in many research communication time in College, they both describe
His Wife for a Hat, as inspiration for her competitions. In 2015, she was in JCH as a place where people who are
to pursue her MPsych/PhD in Clinical the grand finals of the 3MT®, the passionate about learning really want
Neuropsychology. ‘Oliver Sacks is a three-minute thesis competition at the to belong. There is never a tall poppy
very good storyteller in the way he University of Melbourne. Cat also blogs syndrome and intellectual curiosity
describes his fascinating one-on-one about her research and fieldwork at and pursuits are always respected and
sessions with his patients,’ Honor says. catinthefield.wordpress.com. On the encouraged.
Honor now works with patients with blog are many superb photographs,

Where are you now?
We’d love to know where life has taken you since leaving JCH.
You can get in touch with us at development@jch.unimelb.edu.au to share your story.

26 LUCE Number 14 2015