Old Scholar Spotlight - Dr Angela Genoni

The most successful with their degrees and beyond are the ones who WANT to be there. Study your passion and you’ll enjoy every minute of it.

From “nerdy” student to gut-health guru, Dr Angela Genoni’s journey has been anything but ordinary. A proud member of the Class of 1994, Angela credits St Mark’s with providing the encouragement and academic support she needed to thrive — especially after finding her stride among like-minded high achievers. After an early flirtation with Engineering (and realising maths wasn’t her cup of tea), she found her passion in Nutrition and Food Science, eventually completing a PhD focused on the gut microbiome. Today, as the founder of Gut Science and author of A Peaceful Gut, Mind & Body, Angela combines her research expertise with a knack for making complex science understandable — and often, delightfully funny. Between media appearances, podcast interviews, and running her own business, she still finds time for running, yoga and keeping up with her three teenage boys.

Short & Sweet

• Class of: 1994
• House: Carnley
• Tertiary education: Bachelor of Science (Nutrition & Food Science), Hons (First Class), PhD (Nutrition & Gut Microbiome)
• Current role: Founder of Gut Science
• Music you are currently listening to: Acoustic beats while I’m working
• Dream dinner guest: Jacinta Ardern
• Favourite subject at school: Physics with none other than Mr Gaby
• Your experience at St Mark’s in six words: In hindsight, a lot of fun.

A Little Longer

Could you please share your experience at St Mark’s with us?
St Mark's provided me with not only the academic support I needed, but the environment was particularly nurturing for high achievers at that time, and after being teased at primary school for being nerdy (!), St Mark's was just what I needed.

Where has life after St Mark’s taken you? Were you certain about what career path you wanted to follow?
I was a bit lost after high school. I enrolled in Engineering, but then realised that mathematics was not my cup of tea. Had a few years off until the idea of studying nutrition came about. I didn’t go back and do my PhD, though, until I was 37, and at the time, I wanted to be an academic. Somehow, I’ve turned all that knowledge and expertise into a pretty awesome little business.

How do you think St Mark’s prepared you for life after school?
I had a really nice group of friends, and honestly, it’s the people you meet on your journey that prepare you and support you the best in your life after school. The school gave me all the academic tools to get me started.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
Juggling a PhD with three small kids at home. I spent over two years in the lab with faecal samples, and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Learning to extract DNA and sequence DNA, doing microbiome research was some seriously cool s*it (pardon the pun). Now I get to have the right to s*it jokes on a daily basis.

What is your fondest memory of your time at St Mark’s?
I actually have many! The lunchtime ice creams and canteen ‘cheesies’, being made to run to the beach for PE, and the fantastic teachers.

What does the day-to-day look like for your job?
Being in business for yourself is more about the day-to-day tasks - budgets, forecasts, social media promotions, advertising, sales - and then throw in some science. With the launch of my book, I’m also doing a lot of media and podcasts, which I really enjoy. If you’d asked me during my time at school to do public speaking, I would have run a mile, but now I jump at the chance to get up on a stage and speak in front of hundreds of people.

What are the positives and challenges in your role?
Learning some of the more complex things like ads, funnels, and social media algorithms… but it’s part of the job, and if I want to work for myself, I need to embrace the learning here. The positives – well, there are many. I get to set my own schedule and be my own boss – this is my dream come true as far as I’m concerned.

How has medicine, and in particular the focus on gut health, changed over the years?
When I started my PhD, the gut microbiome was an emerging science. The technology has improved greatly in the last 10 years and there has been an explosion of research in this area. Unfortunately, because the science is so complex, there is also a lot of misinformation out there – which is why I am now out on my own communicating this science – because there’s a real need to help people make sense of it all.

What is the best piece of advice you have been given?
That being successful in business is more about your self-belief than anything else. Becoming an entrepreneur is a wild ride in the self-development arena.

What advice do you have for students wanting to pursue a career in a similar field to yours?
Being in academia for the last 10 years, the students who are the most successful with their degrees and beyond are the ones who WANT to be there. Study your passion and you’ll enjoy every minute of it. Oh, and learn how to reference.

Who is your biggest inspiration and why?
That’s a tough one – I’m inspired by anyone who finds the confidence to follow their dreams.

When you are not working, where can we find you?
I have three teenage boys (who are all quite bigger than little me), so I’m likely buying food for them, or being roped into cooking for them, otherwise, I’m out running, doing yoga, or swimming.

To purchase Angela's book, please head to: https://gutscience.au/the-book/ and https://gutscience.au/corporate-health/