Top (left) Stacey Hendriks, Sam Pike, Bottom (left) Irene Middleton and Jiaojiao (Yvonne) Gao.
Massey University students have received five of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) Postgraduate Science Scholarships.
Three of the five scholarships went to PhD students. Ms Irene Middleton, for her research into the role of marine debris and flotsam as habitats for fish; Ms Stacey Hendriks, for research looking to identify and provide solutions to mitigate subclinical disease in dairy cows; and Mr Edwardo Reynolds, for his work on the identification and annotation of genomic variation within the cow genome.
The remaining two students received masters’ scholarships. Miss Jiaojiao (Yvonne) Gao, for her work looking into achieving effective traceability systems for the domestic fresh produce industry; and Mr Sam Pike, who is working on the development of a new, sustainable beef production system from dairy calves.
Associate Agriculture Minister Meka Whaitiri awarded five of the ten scholarships at National Fieldays to postgraduate students from Massey university.
"This scholarship scheme is an investment in the future of our primary industries,” Minister Whaitiri said. “We are ensuring we have the new generation of scientists needed for the challenges we face, such as Myrtle Rust and Mycoplasma bovis.”
College of Sciences Pro-Vice Chancellor Professor Ray Geor says that the scholarships reinforce Massey’s excellence in primary industry research.
“This is a great achievement by these students - these scholarships validate the importance of their chosen research and helps them financially on their journey. They also showcase relevance of our research to industry and how it provides the evidence that is helping to transform the primary industry.
“The talent we have coming up through our postgraduate education is world-leading and New Zealand stands to benefit from the results of this research.”