“I’ll never forget the first iceberg we saw”

I don’t come from a farming background, but it was no surprise I went down the animal science path. I’ve always loved books and animals. As kids, my sister and I would go to parties and she would play with our cousins, but I would always beeline for the pets.

My family only had dogs and cats growing up, but I quickly learnt to love working with larger animals, and I enjoy regular fieldwork at the University’s Dookie campus and at partner farms.

Travelling to Antarctica with 86 spectacular women in science solidified that I love what I do.

The voyage was part of Homeward Bound, a global initiative equipping women and non-binary people with a background in STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine) with the skills to lead and influence decision-making about our planet.

Our cohort was wildly diverse, with women representing 17 different countries, and ages ranging from mid-20s to a sixtieth birthday celebrated on board. It was fabulous.

I’ll never forget the first iceberg we saw. It was during an evening lecture – everyone jumped up and ran outside onto the deck. In hindsight, it was a tiny little thing, but we were so excited to see it.

The atmosphere after we first landed was amazing. What stood out the most were all the different shades of white and blue and the incredible sounds: the wind, ice moving, penguin noises, snow flurries.

When the group started talking about penguins and whales, my nutritionist brain switched on. I am an animal scientist, specialising in animal nutrition and physiology. I work mostly with production animals and how feed impacts their physiology.

I do a fair bit of work on lactating animals. Dairy animals, for example, can be pregnant and lactating at the same time. It’s interesting to see how their cells take in nutrients and partition the energy. This research helps to improve feed efficiency.

Seeing humpback whales up close got me thinking about how these huge animals feed mainly on tiny Antarctic krill. They don’t eat while lactating, so humpbacks need to bulk up and store lots of fat before giving birth! It was also confronting knowing that krill populations are dwindling, and these animals are finding it more and more difficult to find food.

On a global scale, ruminant animals play a huge role in women’s liberation and feeding families. In many developing countries, women are the breadwinners – they may have a cow or a couple of goats. The money they make from milk can help put their children through school or get them out of poverty. I’m not directly involved in smaller farms yet, but I’m passionate about what the industry can do for women around the world, and I hope to play a part.

I completed my bachelor degree in animal science, my honours, and my PhD at the University of Melbourne. I had a great relationship with my animal physiology lecturer Professor Brian Leury. He encouraged me to pursue this path, and I’m so grateful.

My PhD looked at heat stress in production animals. One of the supplements I investigated is now used to help lower the body temperature of cows during summer and improve their productive output.

I do a lot of collaborative research with commercial industries. I’ve just started an Australian Research Council (ARC) linkage grant in collaboration with Meredith Dairy. I’ve also worked with nutrition companies that make animal feed and supplements such as FeedWorks, and HATCH BioSystems, a former startup that converted food waste into insect protein for animal feed.

Some of the technology my research group uses on farms is used by human sports clinics to measure body muscle, fat and bone – we use it to measure goats and sheep.

Research in dairy goats is 20 or 30 years behind where dairy cows are. This isn’t ideal from an efficiency perspective, but a positive is that we can avoid the mistakes that have been made with cows.

Agriculture is a rewarding field to work in, but it means I’m often the only woman in the team. The men I work with are lovely and we have a great team, but the industry is far behind in terms of gender balance.

I wasn’t as conscious of gender imbalance in my early university years. Looking back, all my lecturers were male, but it wasn’t at the forefront of my mind. Gender imbalance wasn’t talked about as much back then, like it is now. It’s important to have these conversations and call out behaviour when needed.

My advice to young girls and women is to network and find good people to talk to. When you feel lonely in male-dominated industries, having a support system is key. Networks don’t have to be from the same discipline, either. It’s useful to hear other people’s perspectives.

The voyage to Antarctica was an example of submersing myself in a supportive environment. I connected with scientists from all over the world and I can’t wait to see what everyone does next.

I learnt a lot about myself, and the trip solidified that academia and teaching is where I want to be. If I can positively influence just one student, I will be happy. Anything more is just a bonus.

- As told to Jo Piltz

Banner: Dr DiGiocomo with other Homeward Bound participants. Supplied.