Another scholarship win for Sarah

Another scholarship win for Sarah

Out of more than 600 applicants, University of Waikato masters student Sarah Appleby is one of just six students in the Asia-Pacific region to receive a Golden Key Graduate Scholar Scholarship, worth $10,000.

Golden Key is an international honours society which invites members to join based on academic excellence.

Applications for the prestigious scholarship are open only to members of Golden Key, and successful applicants must be able to demonstrate the usefulness of their research after graduation.

Master’s study at AgResearch

Sarah is carrying out her research at AgResearch in Ruakura, testing the functional potential of bovine embryonic stem cells.

“Embryonic stem cells have really only been fully isolated from mice and rats, however scientists here have developed a method that isolates bovine cells with very similar properties to mice and rat embryonic stem cells. Tests have shown these cells perform well in the lab, so my work will be focused on seeing if they improve cloning efficiency,” says Sarah.

“I’m really grateful for the Golden Key scholarship. The type of research I’m doing means I’m often in the lab on the weekend, and fitting in a part-time job would have been really stressful. Having the scholarship is one less thing to worry about.”

Achieving throughout the years

It’s not the first scholarship Sarah has received. She was awarded the David Johnstone Charitable Trust Scholarship in 2010; the Anne Shannon Undergraduate Scholarship in 2011 and the University of Waikato Taught Postgraduate Fees Scholarship in 2014. During her undergraduate studies she was top in her class in Statistics for Science, and an Earth Sciences and Bryant Hall Academic Excellence awards winner.

Originally from Whangamata, Sarah began her studies at the University of Waikato in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science (Technology), majoring in biological sciences. She finished with an A+ average in 2013 before beginning her masters study.

She had two placements at AgResearch during her undergraduate degree, spending three months at the Ruakura campus and seven months at the Invermay campus, just outside of Dunedin.

Interest in reproductive biology

“I really enjoyed the type of work I was exposed to in the reproductive technologies team,” says Sarah. “I also had jokingly said when I finished high school that in 10 years’ time I’d be working on curing the common cold, so this sort of medical/biological application research has always been something I was interested in.”

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