christopher_wong
By the age of 24 Christopher Wong had already broken new ground in medical research.
While still a student, Christopher began helping out on research projects at the University of Adelaide. He found that the number of people with a heart condition called Atrial Fibrillation had tripled. It was a discovery that could lead others to a cure for heart disease and strokes. Christopher’s breakthrough is another example of the amazing thinking that happens in Adelaide.
Since then his research has taken him all over the world to address leading heart experts and has won him a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University.
- Dr Christopher Wong
How did you get into medical research?
As a student, I had always imagined I would be a doctor working purely in clinical medicine. When the offer of a summer research scholarship arose at the end of my first year of university, I thought I would ‘give it a go.
I soon realised that research offered a challenge refreshingly different from clinical medicine, and I continue to draw immense satisfaction in the knowledge that research can help improve the lives of patients worldwide and in generations to come.
What’s your life philosophy?
I love new challenges and pushing the boundaries of what I am capable of. There is nothing more satisfactory than the process of setting a goal, planning the way forward and the incomparable elation in achieving it. It is thrilling to challenge yourself and win.
What would you say to those who think there are limited opportunities
for young people in SA?
There are plenty of opportunities for young people in South Australia, the challenge is to seek out and take advantage of the unique opportunities that are available.
Moving permanently to ‘larger states’ is not always the answer to a perceived lack of opportunities, and in many fields – including medical research - there are numerous benefits in being a ‘smaller state’ that can be advantageous.