Dr Sue McCoard
"A career in science allows you to think for yourself - and make a real difference..."
Region
Manawatu
Job
Sue (photo courtesy of The Foundation for Research, Science & Technology) works as part of a research team that is identifying genes involved in controlling protein production in the mammary gland. Identifying these genes and then understanding how they work is important for us to understand the complex interactions involved in milk production. It could also lead to ways of producing milk products with special properties, for example improved nutritional characteristics.
The work offers some innovative and very positive long-term opportunities to keep the New Zealand dairy industry internationally competitive.
Career Pathway
Sue believes that a career in science allows you to think for yourself, keep learning new things, and make a real difference.
She first wanted to be a scientist when she was in primary school, and says it’s proved to be a great career choice. At high school she took all the sciences – biology, chemistry, and physics – and they convinced her to follow a career in science: “These classes allowed me to learn about science and showed me I had a true passion for biology, which I found both interesting and fun to learn.”
Sue recently won the very prestigious Emerging Biotechnologist of the Year Award at the inaugural NZBio Conference held in March 2005.
Interests
Outside of work, Sue enjoys spending quality time with her husband and young daughter on their lifestyle block, caring for a wide range of animals or pursuing outdoor interests like water skiing and camping.
Dr Sue McCoard
- Position
- Senior Scientist
- Field
- Genetics
- Place of Work
- AgResearch
