An Australian medical research scientist, Dr Tu’uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino, has been recognised for her work in women's health and recently chosen as a Victorian Tall Poppy, an award for excellence in scientific research and communication.

Tu’uhevaha, a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Mercy Hospital for Women, is half-Tongan. Her father is Paula Kaitu'u and she lives with her husband Tutanekai Lino and their daughter Katokakala Lino in Melbourne.

"On the award night it was also announced that Tu'uhevaha had been selected as the Victorian Tall Poppy of the Year, 2012 (tied with another University of Melbourne research scientist)," Tutanekai Lino said today. "Given that the Tongan community is keenly interested in promoting education, I thought this story might be of interest to you, and hopefully will inspire the next generation of Tongans," he said.

Role model

In a statement on November 14, Mercy Health recognised Dr Tu'uhevaha Kaitu’u-Lino as a valuable role model.

"These prestigious awards uniquely acknowledge Dr Kaitu’u-Lino’s research achievements and her commitment to communicating science and its significance to the broader community," Mercy Health stated.

Tu’uhevaha was recognised for her work in developing treatments for pre-eclampsia − and science communication.

"Pre-eclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that globally kills 20,000 women each year and countless more babies. In pre-eclampsia, toxins escape from the placenta, spread throughout the mother, attacking her organs and causing her to become very sick. The only 'cure' is to deliver the placenta and baby, often resulting in the delivery of preterm babies. Having to deliver a baby prematurely puts the baby at serious risk of death or disability. Not delivering the baby could result in the enduring illness and possible death of the mother. It’s an impossible situation and one Tu’uhevaha is working hard to find a treatment for.

Her research focuses on developing new medical treatments that can prevent the escape of toxins from the placenta. This year, as part of Mercy Hospital for Women’s Translational Obstetrics team, Dr Kaitu’u-Lino and her colleagues discovered how a key toxin called “soluble endoglin” is released from the placenta. A protein with a scissoring action called MMP-14 approaches the endoglin and slices it off, allowing it to float off into the mother’s bloodstream, attacking her organs.

The implication of this groundbreaking discovery is that a very specific drug target has been identified. Now there is work to develop such a drug, to prevent the release of this toxin. If successful, such a drug could revolutionise treatment of this disease, saving countless mothers and babies. Tu’uhevaha recently received a $550,000 research grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia to further support her research.

Tu’uhevaha is also passionate about communicating science to students and encouraging participation in the field. “I enjoy going out to schools and showing kids why science is interesting,” she said. “It’s important to me because we need people to choose science as a career. When I started out I wanted to do medicine so I could help people, but science is helping people too, just from a different angle. Young kids may not be so interested in science so it’s important to me to get out there and show them how fascinating and fulfilling it is.”

Tu’uhevaha also said that science and family life can go hand in hand.  “When I speak with young women, I want to show them that science is also a really family friendly field, particularly if you have a supportive organisation and team around you like I do. As a mother of two with another on the way, my family has never taken a back seat to my career. Both are extremely important to me.”

As a Tall Poppy award winner, Tu’uhevaha will go on to demonstrate her value as a role model by promoting and encouraging an interest and engagement in science within the education and community sectors.