Alison Todd facts for kids

Alison Todd is a brilliant Australian scientist. She has invented many things, holding 18 patents as of July 2019. Alison is also a co-founder and the chief scientific officer of a company called SpeeDx. This company makes special tests to find tiny germs that cause sickness. These tests also help identify if germs are resistant to antibiotics. SpeeDx creates important tools to help doctors diagnose diseases. Alison also helps guide younger scientists and business people. She strongly supports having more women in leadership roles in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

Her Amazing Career

Alison Todd is the Chief Scientific Officer at SpeeDx. She started this company with another scientist, Elisa Mokany. Together, Alison and Elisa have created 18 groups of patents. These patents protect their amazing inventions. They have also developed 11 medical tests. These tests help manage different health conditions.

Before starting SpeeDx, Alison developed many new ways to analyze molecules. These methods have been used in basic science research. They also helped in developing new medicines. Her special skills include understanding DNA chemistry. This includes how to make many copies of DNA. She also understands the science of cancer and diseases caused by viruses. Before SpeeDx, Alison was a Senior Research Director at Johnson and Johnson Research in Sydney.

Discovering New Science

Alison Todd describes a special moment she calls her "Eureka moment." This is when she had a big breakthrough idea. She said it all started when Elisa Mokany joined her team. They were already looking for ways to use special DNA molecules called DNAzymes. These DNAzymes could help with diagnostic tests.

DNAzymes are fascinating molecules. They are simple, short pieces of DNA. They can speed up chemical reactions. This is similar to how protein enzymes work. For a long time, scientists thought only RNA could do this naturally. They didn't think DNA could have these properties. But a few years earlier, a scientist named Jerry Joyce showed that DNA could also be catalytic. He did this by doing "evolution in a test tube." This inspired Alison and Elisa to explore DNAzymes further.

Awards and Recognition

Alison Todd has received several important awards for her work.

• She won the Johnson & Johnson Philip B. Hofmann Research Scientist Award.
• She was chosen as one of six "Boss True Leaders Game Changers." This was because of her research. Her work helps fight against "superbugs." These are germs that are hard to treat.
• She is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE).

In the News

Alison Todd's work has been featured in the news.

• In 2017, The Australian Financial Review wrote about her work. They called her a "frontline fighter in the war on superbugs."
• Also in 2017, The Sydney Morning Herald wrote about her company. They talked about how SpeeDx was formed. The article also shared their concern that women were not well-represented in STEMM fields. It highlighted how SpeeDx focuses on hiring and mentoring women.