Students

Kate Samardzic

Screening vitamins and supplements, University of Technology Sydney

In Australia, the size of the vitamin and supplement industry has doubled in the last 15 years, reaching an annual value of $4.7 billion in 2017. It is imperative that we rigourously test any drug, vitaman, health powder or supplement that we put into our bodies and that is where PhD candidate Kate Samardzic focuses her research. Too often it has been shown that marketing and science don’t match up in the supplement industry. In addition to the debate about the effectiveness (or lack there of) of certain supplements, it is vital that we understand any harmful or toxic toxic side effects when using these supplements. Kate’s research focuses on a set of toxicity screening tests to determine whether a supplement has any potential negative side effects.