Graduate Profile

Jade Hollis-Moffatt — Graduate, BMLSc

Jade Hollis-Moffatt enjoyed science at school in Ashburton so she jumped at the chance to attend Otago's Hands-On Science school for secondary students.

"I had lots of fun and met lots of interesting people," she says. "I loved it so I decided to come here to study."

It was a big move. "Coming from a small place it was a big city to me. But I loved the University and Dunedin. I loved the history, loved the city, loved the buildings."

Mäori scholarships helped Jade complete a four-year Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science, with the final year working at Dunedin Hospital.

Now she's halfway through a PhD (on a Lottery Health scholarship), researching longevity in mice .

"I started with a Masters in Health Science. The project grew so big that they decided to upgrade me to a PhD."

Jade is trying to find a gene that explains why some mice live up to 30% longer than others.

"It's been done with fruit flies, worms and yeast, but nothing has ever been done in mammals and because we are mammals the implications are there for humans as well," she says. "But it's more about promoting our health span than our life span."

Jade is grateful for the support she's received from Mäori scholarships and family. "I've always had encouragement from my whanau. Education is a big thing in my whanau."

It's important for Jade too, and aside from research she supervises medical students and demonstrates science subjects for undergraduates.

After her PhD Jade plans to travel. "I'll probably go overseas to do a post-doc and learn new research techniques so I can come back and apply them."