Completing a PhD is no easy feat, but throw in significant health challenges and that makes the academic achievements of one University of Queensland graduate even more remarkable.
Recently conferred spent the past 5-and-a-half years working on his thesis while battling a rare genetic kidney disorder.
“As stressful as a PhD can be, my only real goal for the last few years was to survive,” Matt said.
“My work as an academic is a big part of my life, and sometimes you just have to keep on going, no matter what you may be enduring behind the scenes.”
Matt said it was also the support of a community of leading researchers at Â鶹ÊÓƵ that helped him achieve his academic goals and graduate with a Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering in July this year.
Matt was undertaking a Dual Bachelors degree in Engineering (Honours) (Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering) and a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) at Â鶹ÊÓƵ when he got the first inkling of ill health.
“I applied for a military engineering scholarship in 2016,” he said.
“I sent in a urine sample as part of the recruitment process, and they contacted me and said my sample looked unusual and recommended I get some testing done.”
Matt was referred to Â鶹ÊÓƵ’s , a specialist in inherited kidney disease, for treatment.
“Professor Mallett conducted a series of genetic tests and diagnosed me with Dent’s disease, a disorder that causes chronic kidney disease, leading to kidney failure,” Matt said.
“I found this difficult to process - going from being a young man who thinks he’s indestructible, to realising that you’re actually pretty fragile.”
Despite the prognosis Matt remained optimistic, and with the help of Professor Mallett continued to manage his health and complete his undergraduate program just 2 years later in 2018.
But 2-and-a-half years into his PhD Matt’s chronic kidney disease progressed to Stage 5, requiring a transplant.
“Finding a kidney match can be difficult but I was lucky that my Dad George was able to be my donor,” he said.
“By having a family donor I was able to avoid dialysis – which is a horrible thing to go through.”
Matt underwent a kidney transplant in November 2021 at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane.
But rather than put his studies on hold while he recovered, he committed to finishing his PhD.
“People often ask me if there was some deep meaning as to why I continued my studies, but the truth was, if I didn’t finish my thesis I would have been pretty disappointed,” he said.
“I was in a unique position where on the days I was feeling healthy, I could continue to do my work from home - if I had to clock in at a job at the supermarket every day, I feel like it would have been a different scenario.
“My PhD supervisors and were both incredibly supportive and flexible with how I managed my workload.”
Professor Klimenko said he was proud of Matt’s commitment to his studies.
“Matt displayed outstanding strength of character by continuing his work,” Professor Klimenko said.
“I believe that in conjunction with the excellent medical treatment he received, this dedication was the main driving force behind his recovery.
“He has not only endured some extreme health challenges, but restored his impressive abilities to conduct research and submitted an excellent thesis.”
After 5-and-a-half years of research, Matt said it was a strange feeling to finally finish his thesis.
“I just clicked a button and it whisked away – there wasn’t much closure, but I realised it was the first time I could relax in ages,” he said.
“I even asked my girlfriend if it was ok if we just watched a TV show all day.”
Dr Kratzer is now working as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with Professor Klimenko researching green hydrogen systems.
Matt said while his PhD journey was not without its struggles, his health challenges have helped to shape the focus of his research work.
“During my transplant I realised that my entire academic career has been self-motivated – I studied problems which were interesting instead of problems which were of value to the community,” he said.
“I thought it would be fulfilling to apply my theoretical knowledge of fluid mechanics to health research, so I am also doing some work with Professor Andrew Mallett on the fluid mechanics of the kidney.
“This way I can combine fulfilling work along with work that I know so well.”
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