Christine Rommel
“I'm always struck by how something like seasonal flu can still be life-threatening for some people, especially children.
That sticks with me, especially as I have a young niece and nephew back home in Germany. I think about how they could be affected, and that motivates me at work – knowing I'm contributing to improving lives.
One of the reasons I joined CSL was the connection between science and its impact on people's lives. Science can be abstract, but I'm fascinated when basic research is turned into a therapy or product that helps people. Since I’m focused on the data side, I'm not as close to patients as some of my colleagues, but through my work I’m helping scientists reduce the time to insight and discovery – and that ultimately benefits patients.
As a child I was always annoying my parents by asking ‘why’. At some point, I noticed that biology fascinated me, particularly how the human body works, how it's supposed to work, and what happens when things don't work as expected. The whole complexity of it really drew me in. And I was also interested in technology – because of my dad’s work, we were one of the first households with an early version of what we now call a computer. I always wanted to know what's beneath the surface – of both the human body and new gadgets.
At first, I wanted to become a medical doctor because I was interested in applying science to help people or patients. But I realised that I wanted to be part of creating the solutions – contributing to new therapies, new drugs, new ways to help people.
When I sat in a bioinformatics course during university, it just clicked for me. It’s all about how technology can enable science to be more efficient, maybe even faster, without compromising quality. My friends who enjoyed lab work were experts in the molecule they were researching and all the interconnections. They thought about the questions they had and how to design experiments to answer those questions. That's essential. But I was more interested in how we could use technology to make things more efficient and get insights faster.
And that’s what I do today as part of CSL’s R&D lab platform team. We work with our R&D sites with labs – Waltham, Melbourne, and Zurich–Schlieren – to make sure their systems support scientific productivity and data integrity. It's rewarding when scientists tell you that a system saves them time and prevents errors.
Using the right technology effectively doesn't just make you more efficient; it frees up time for creativity. And that allows scientists to be more innovative – solving puzzles and thinking about new things.
The great thing about scientists is that if they have a problem, they'll find a solution. But if everyone finds their own solution, you end up with silos. In my work, I’m often the connection between different disciplines. I bring experts together, and often find myself translating between fields, asking questions, and helping connect the dots.
The most important thing I’ve learned is you don’t need to be an expert in everything. I'm not an expert in biology, science, or technology – I’m more of a generalist who understands enough to bridge gaps and bring people together. And when you bring people together, you drive innovation.”