From Sudan to UQ: Finding a saviour in science
University of Queensland researcher Nyakuoy Yak started life on the run from armed soldiers in Sudan.
The PhD candidate at UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute escaped war in Sudan with her family and was raised in refugee camps before eventually finding a new home in regional Queensland.
At eight-years-old Nyakuoy was enrolled in a Toowoomba primary school knowing very little English, but says discovering maths and science was her saviour.
“I struggled a lot because I didn’t understand the language very well, but I was able to pick up the patterns in maths, so it and science became a huge part of my life growing up,” Nyakuoy said.
The family's first Christmas in Australia, 2005
The family's first Christmas in Australia, 2005
Nyakuoy and her siblings' first day of school in June 2005.
Nyakuoy and her siblings' first day of school in June 2005.
This World Refugee Week, Nyakuoy is reflecting on the extraordinary journey that got her to where she is today.
Her family is among more than two million refugees who’ve fled brutal civil war in Sudan.
Nyakuoy says during her birth in the warzone, her mother went through labour in silence so her cries of pain wouldn’t alert nearby soldiers.
“There were men fighting all around and how she managed to give birth without giving away her location I’ll never understand,” Nyakuoy said.
Shortly after, the family was whisked to safety in a helicopter.
They spent several years living in a refugee camp in Kenya where Nyakuoy’s mother was determined to provide a better life for her children.
She applied three times for refugee status in Australia before the family including Nyakuoy, her older brother and two younger sisters, was granted visas in 2005 and arrived in Toowoomba.
“We struggled a lot,” Nyakuoy said.
“We had a really hard time with things people don’t realise you have to adjust to.
“The first time we went grocery shopping, we had no idea how to get anything - Mum just followed a woman around and picked up everything she picked up.
“Sometimes our lunches were a cucumber and can of beetroot.
“Mum was amazing, no English, four small kids, I don’t know how she did it,” Nyakuoy said.
The family had to learn to operate a television in their new home.
“The social housing we moved into came with a TV – but we’d never seen one before,” Nyakuoy said.
“We managed to turn it on but for two years didn’t know how to change the channel.
“We were watching shows like The Simpsons and NCIS without a clue of what was going on!”
The family was surrounded by support - from a nearby church, Toowoomba’s growing Sudanese community and local couple Neil and Wendy Peach who still play a major role in Nyakuoy’s life.
Nyakuoy thrived in high school, receiving a UQ Young Achievers Scholarship before completing a Bachelor of Science UQ, majoring in virology.
She went on to complete her Masters at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience and is now working alongside Professor Frederic Meunier in the microscopy team at the Queensland Brain Institute.
She is currently completing her PhD in super resolution microscopy – a technique that could lead to new discoveries in the brain.
“Microscopes are what I love the most,” Nyakuoy said.
“They’re a wonderful tool to not only streamline the scientific answer but also visualise what you’re looking for.
“People underestimate the types of answers and questions you can ask with a microscope.”
Nyakuoy has been named a 2022 Westpac Future Leaders Scholar, which will allow her to travel overseas to visit leading research institutes.
Her ultimate goal is to be part of an Australian-first project to create a local microscope production company.
“Australia doesn’t really have a microscopy manufacturing company - all of our microscopes are imported from overseas,” she said.
“I would love to do something where I can build microscopes and then commercialise them here in Australia.”
Images: Upsplash
Photo by James Wiseman on Unsplash
Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
Nyakuoy at her UQ graduation with family friends Neil and Wendy Peach.
Nyakuoy at her UQ graduation with family friends Neil and Wendy Peach.
The avid student is already fluent in five languages - Nuer, Arabic, English, French and Korean – but wants to learn ten more.
Nyakuoy says this World Refugee Week she’s reflecting on other refugees who are still trying to find a home.
“It’s a time for me to look back on my own journey but also celebrate the resilience of past, present and future refugees as they flee their homes in the hopes of a better future.”
Media: communications@uq.edu.au; +61 (0)429 056 139.
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