Urooza Sarma is an early career researcher at the Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute at Monash University. Prior to this, she got her Bachelor of Science (Biomedical Sciences) from the University of Auckland and BSc Honours (Anatomy) from the University of Otago.
During Urooza's PhD studies, she has developed a keen interest in the fields of immunology and ovarian biology. Broadly, the goal of her work is to characterise and minimise the impact of insults on ovarian function and female reproductive health. Her PhD studies have specifically focused on the impact of Chlamydia infection on the ovary and fertility. In addition, she has developed comprehensive guides and methodologies for assessing the impact of different exogenous insults on the quantity of oocytes within the ovary.
Urooza has delivered several oral presentations at national and international conferences in the fields of immunology and reproductive immunology. She has also been awarded the Lalor Foundation Merit Award (USA) for her PhD work as well as first place in several oral and poster presentations. As a keen science communicator, and an advocate for women and young people in STEM, Urooza has been actively involved with several outreach programs and mentoring schemes.