Lisa Tatai

“I was only at Yarra for VCE, but they were two very good years.”

During her time at Yarra, in Years 11 and 12, Lisa Tatai never imagined she’d end up working as a scientist. Outside the classroom, her passion was sport and fitness and academically, her interests were firmly focused on the Humanities.

“I was very sporty and loved interschool sports. There were no VCE subjects in Year 11 back then so I remember my first year at Yarra being very social! In Year 12 I did spend more time in the library but I still probably could have focused a little more!” says Lisa.

Lisa’s dedication to sport and fitness began in primary school. She was a talented elite gymnast with a rigorous training schedule until the age of 14, when she says burn out led her to switch to dance.

The self-discipline that was part of her sport served her well then and continues to help Lisa live her best life.

“Gymnastics taught me discipline and devotion. I am still very routine focused. I wake at 4.30am and do a 5.30am gym class during the week. I never skip a day at the gym and that focus on exercise keeps me grounded and balanced,” she says.

After leaving Yarra, Lisa spent some time in the workforce while also studying at TAFE so she could work as a personal trainer and gym instructor. She says she then had ‘an early 20s crisis.’ Lisa quit her jobs and moved to Hamilton Island for a year to work in a café and work out what came next.

“I knew I needed something more and by the time I returned to Melbourne I’d worked out that I wanted to study Psychology with a Science major. After the first year I loved Science and dropped Psychology.”

Lisa graduated with a degree in biotechnology and microbiology and then began a PhD. She finished it eight years later, having two children along the way. She also gained some valuable work experience working part-time at Swinburne University teaching laboratory classes and in a laboratory at CSIRO.

Now, with her two sons in their teens, she is gradually establishing her science career at the Bionics Institute.

“I am excited where my career could go in terms of research. It has been a slow journey but I’m fine with that,” says Lisa.

“Once my kids are grown up I’m looking forward to what comes next for my husband and I. I’d like to travel, explore the world and continue to develop my personal self, too.”