Did you know pollen can be deadly? If you have hay fever, you might be at risk of thunderstorm asthma, a condition triggered by high levels of pollen during a storm that can cause severe asthma attacks, even in people who have never had asthma! While these thunderstorm asthma events are rare, around 40% of all worldwide events happened right here in Australia which have resulted in hospitalisations and even deaths.

As both a hay fever sufferer and a scientist, Kira Hughes is dedicated to tackling this issue by investigating what causes thunderstorm asthma events and developing better ways to detect pollen. While completing her PhD at the NeuroAllergy Research Laboratory (NARL) at Deakin University, she spent her days building innovative sensors and analysing environmental data trends. She hopes that her research will uncover how thunderstorm asthma events unfold and improve early warning systems to help save lives. Kira also worked as a Research Scientist & Site Manager for Deakin AIRwatch, providing data to the Bureau of Meteorology and Victorian Department of Health for pollen forecasting services and ongoing thunderstorm asthma research.

Currently, Kira works as a Research Grants Officer at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, where she helps scientists effectively communicate their work to secure funding for important cancer research. In addition, she is an award-winning Science Communicator with a passion for promoting scientific research to diverse audiences as well as advocating for underrepresented groups in STEM.