Marlou Mackus – Pharmacologist

Name: Marlou Mackus

Location: Swinburne University, Hawthorn, Melbourne, Australia

What do you do? I am a master and PhD student from the Netherlands. I have a degree in pharmaceutical sciences, which I obtained at the university of Utrecht, the Netherlands. I am in the second year of my masters degree which focuses on science and business management. I am also working on my PhD in the field of alcohol hangovers (yes that’s absolutly no joke!). I started doing research on the pathology of alcohol hangovers approximately 1.5 year ago. My PhD focuses on the biomarkers of the alcohol hangover. Biomarkers are naturally occurring molecules/gene/characteristic by which a particular process (such as a disease) can be identified. So in fact, which chemicals or biological factors play a role in the development and severity of your alcohol hangover. Eventually, I would love to work as a strategy consultant at a pharmaceutical company or healthcare institute.

Currently I am based in Melbourne where I am doing clinical research for two months on the effects of supplements on cognitive functioning of individuals. Next year February I will be going to New York for my final internship. This will be in a startup pharmaceutical company, which is mainly focused on business, management, and marketing. I am really looking forward to exploring New York and I am curious whether I love this city as much as I love Melbourne.

What do you see? You cannot deny that this is a very relaxing view! From the 9th level, where our office is located, you can overlook the suburb Hawthorn accompanied by an outstandingly beautiful sunset! The picture is taken around 05:30PM during winter time. I love to see how all the suburbs are filled with low-rise buildings, whereas the City Business District (CBD) is packed with sky scrapers. This gives you the feeling you are living in a town rather than such a big city as Melbourne is and is definitely one of the features that I love so much about this city!

When I’m not doing science I like.. there is obviously a lot of other thing I love to do! I am absolute foodie – and no it does not always have to be healthy! I love cakes, tarts, donuts, sweets, and I am addicted to coffee, poached eggs with avocado, and cars (currently obsessed with Tesla, but I would not mind a Bentley or Aston Martin either to be honest haha)! Shopping is one of my other passions, just as reading books of various genres. Because I love exploring the world and have the opportunity to do so, I started the account _thetravelingscientist (www.instagram.com/_thetravelingscientist/) to share all my experiences and photos with the world! I try to update my feed regularly – have a look at my feed and share your experiences and stories with me!