Discovering and learning are the things that make Dr Amira Allahham’s life thrilling. With a number of discoveries already under her belt, the researcher is now looking at how burn injuries can change the brain.
By Ara Jansen
Learning is the biggest joy in Dr Amira Allahham’s life and she hopes that remains true for the rest of her years.
“It is true – learning is my biggest joy,” says Amira. “I don’t find as much joy anywhere else.”
The child of Palestinian refugees who migrated to New Zealand, Amira spent her first three years there before her family moved to Jordan.
She came to Perth in 2011 and began her studies at the University of WA. She has a Bachelor of Science (Hons), a PhD in biomedical science and is currently working in her first year as a post-doctorate researcher.
The 28-year-old is an adjunct research fellow at UWA and is currently undertaking research at the Fiona Wood Foundation, looking at the psychological and psychosocial effects burn injuries have on the brain.
“My grandfather really cared about education and made sure that his family were educated,” says Amira. “This was his ticket to a good life. He got his master’s degree very late in life. He gave that quest for knowledge to my mum. My other grandparents were teachers too.
“When I was in Year 12, I wasn’t sure what to do. I did love the arts and wanted to be a movie director, but my parents worried about that and told me it should be my hobby because as a career it didn’t offer a very stable future.”
A student counsellor at school had read about the field of neuroscience and suggested to Amira’s mum that her daughter might quench her thirst for knowledge this way. She started reading about it and was hooked.
“I’m glad I listened to them. I love discovery and finding new knowledge. I feel like with human biology and anatomy we have discovered so much but the brain is still so much of a mystery.”
Amira’s grandfather passed away in 2004, when she was still a child, but his influence was significant. He had a big library and told stories about how important knowledge was and how important it was to him. Her mum also passed on those stories.
As a Muslim, Amira balances her devotion to her religion with her quest for knowledge. The Quran mentions the great importance – and indeed compulsory nature – of seeking knowledge in Islam from the cradle to the grave.
“Seeking knowledge is one of the principles – and there are so many things to discover. It says the work of a scholar is higher than the work of a worshipper. For me, the more I seek knowledge, the more I want to know and the more I know, the more I know I don’t know. The more I have, the more I am hungry for.
“The more I discover the more I see things playing in harmony and so much of it is perfect and symmetrical. That’s evidence to me that it’s part of a bigger picture. That’s how I don’t find contradiction between science and my beliefs.”
Amira’s ongoing fascination and research work is in what kind of changes happen in the brain as a result of a burn injury – not necessarily a catastrophic injury – and why. It is a complex puzzle and just the kind she is keen to solve.
Her research was the first to identify the transcriptomic, metabolomic and lipidomic long-term alterations in the brain following burn injuries.
Additionally, it was the first to establish a link between these long-term physiological brain changes and a potential elevated risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
“That aspect of discovery is so exciting. I love that my work allows me to explore and discover things.
“At first, I wasn’t sure what I would do with a neuroscience degree. There were only jobs in research, and I didn’t know enough about it to know if it could be a career.
“I thought if research was my career path, I would be stuck in an office reading research papers all day – and that sounded really boring. I remember crying to my mum that I had made a bad choice.”
Luckily, a conversation with a lecturer led her to a project looking at the brain in burn injuries. She looked at mouse models and how their behaviour was impacted by a burn and potentially what long-term effects there might be. She discovered that certain gene expressions changed after a burn, which could ultimately cause changes in a person’s life.
The project revealed a path outside a dusty office and Amira has found a home in neuroscience that ticks all of her boxes.
“It made me incredibly happy to have made a discovery in science, it was a very proud moment. Being at the frontline of discovery is pretty special.
“I also found something with a practical aspect where I have been able to use my hands. Being able to suggest a path, try it out, wondering if it will work and having it work – that’s totally thrilling. Seeing an idea come to life from nothing to a discovery is completely fascinating. I often joke about it as being the addiction.”
Amira is currently studying the long-term effects of a burn injury on the brain, like whether a person’s future mental health and brain chemistry can be radically altered. If it is a negative change, could there be a way to halt or prevent it? Can something be done in the first 48 hours after the injury to help future potential issues?
Not only does Amira want to continue making discoveries, she also wants to share the results and benefits with as many people as possible. An eventual goal of hers is to open a school as a way of passing on a love for knowledge, holistic education and learning.
She also sees it as a way of bringing people together and recognising all aspects of a human alongside creating an ethical life with integrity and an appreciation of all cultures.
Amira is the eldest child with two younger brothers and is close to her family. On Saturdays she teaches Islamic studies to local kids and says it brings her great joy.
When she has down time, she loves playing video games and reads widely. Subjects on her bookshelf include theology, philosophy, religion and history. To extend her understanding of the area, Amira also attained a graduate certificate in education.
She has also begun reading the Bible to compare it to the Quran and is generally interested in the similarities of stories and messages in various holy books.
“They remind me we have more similarities than differences. I think science will lead me to education. Islam encourages us to ask questions. God challenges you to question the Quran and see if you can find errors. I take that literally. I’m always exploring and it’s making me more grounded in religion, and coming back with answers from science helps solidify the essence of who we are as humans.”
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