Dr Bora Kim is Research Fellow in the Supportive Care and Patient Outcomes team at the Daffodil Centre. In this ‘Researcher spotlight’ we learn about her background in nursing, her Daffodil Centre Research Fellowship, and how the fellowship scheme has helped launch her career in cancer research.
What is your background and how did you come to join the Daffodil Centre?
I started my career as a cancer nurse, working in oncology and haematology wards. Those early years gave me a glimpse into the lives of people with cancer, their unique stories, challenges, and, most of all, their incredible resilience. I felt privileged to form meaningful connections and to support them at such a pivotal point in their lives.
After completing chemotherapy accreditation and a diploma in cancer nursing, I began learning more about cancer treatment, symptom management, and the ongoing challenges people face beyond acute care. This sparked my interest in research, and I moved into cancer research management, where I worked closely with clinicians to enhance cancer care delivery. Later, I took on a teaching academic role, educating nursing students in complex chronic care, pathophysiology, and pharmacology. When the Daffodil Centre Fellowship opportunity came up, it felt like a natural next step, and I was fortunate to be successful.
What have been some of the benefits of your Daffodil Centre Fellowship over the past three years?
The Daffodil Centre Fellowship Scheme has been a true stepping stone for me. It gave me the chance to bring together the skills, experiences, and passion that I’ve built throughout my career. It feels like I’ve been collecting pearls along the way, and this fellowship gave me the opportunity to thread them into something meaningful. Now, I’m starting to see that work coming to fruition. Being part of a large, flagship cancer research centre also meant that I got to see and work with researchers with diverse expertise, which has opened up my perspective and helped me form new connections.
How has the fellowship scheme helped you build momentum towards becoming an independent researcher and obtain research funding?
For me, the scheme gave me the time and resources to build my own program of research and track record to set myself up as an independent researcher. Three years is a solid period for an early-career researcher to build preparatory work to apply for research funding. This year alone, our team has secured several funding sources totalling more than $200k directly related to my work, which will fund my role and research projects moving forward.
What is the next step in your career journey?
My next step is to consolidate my expertise in health services research and complete pilot work to be ready for larger grant schemes. I’ll be continuing to work closely with the Sydney Local Health District ‘Cancer Services’ on a program of research to enhance supportive care for older people with cancer. This will include several streams of work focusing on frailty prevention and clinical workflow that enable better linkage to existing support services. I’ll also be collaborating with PhycoHealth, an Australian seaweed company, to develop oral care formulations aimed at reducing cancer therapy-induced oral mucositis using their technology. We’ve successfully fundraised to pursue this work, and it’s an exciting opportunity to advance clinical care in this area. Finally, I’ll continue working on research examining clinically meaningful thresholds for interpreting patient-reported outcome measures through ongoing collaborative projects using cohort and trial data.
Do you have any advice for those interested in pursuing a career in cancer research?
I think the true joy of cancer research is seeing the real-life impact it has, how it changes care and clinical practice to bring tangible benefits to people’s lives. This is only possible when we work closely with industry and consumer partners who see the real value of our work. Doing research well is important, but I think we should always be thinking about how it can be put to good use. It makes our research program more competitive, and seeing real people benefit from our work gives us the fuel to keep going.
Do you have a hidden talent or hobby people might not know about?
Art has always been a side passion of mine. I used to do watercolour, and now I do acrylic painting. I like bold, colourful abstracts, and my current favourites are works by Betty Krause and Jonathan Gemmell.
