First Melbourne Genomics bursary awarded to MSc Bioinformatics student Ms Jia An Yu
University of Melbourne Master of Science (Bioinformatics) student Ms Jia An Yu, is a welcome addition to Melbourne’s Biomedical and Biosciences precinct. Jia An’s undergraduate training was in biology in China’s north east at Harbin Institute of Technology (HIT), a large multi-disciplinary, nationally-renowned university focussed on science, engineering and research. At HIT she developed an interest in where big data was taking the life sciences so she went looking for a relevant post-graduate degree.
Three things convinced Jia An to apply to this course: the University’s No. 1 ranking in Australia and its international ranking, Melbourne being one of the most liveable cities in the world and the unique structure of the course with streams for biology, mathematics and computer science undergraduates to learn from each other while not holding each other back.
Following a great start to the year, Melbourne Genomics have awarded Jia An a $5000 student bursary and this supports her study while she puts her new skills into one of their research projects. This one is led by Associate Professor Paul James, from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, and is aimed at developing a clinically oriented approach to whole genome data for inherited cardiac disorders. Read about Melbourne Genomics projects here. Other supervisors include Lavinia Gordon, Bioinformatics Manager at Australian Genome Research Facility and Lead Bioinformatician, Human Genomics Group, Melbourne Bioinformatics, Dr Bernard Pope.
Dr Pope said, “I know Jia An is keen to start applying her new skills. This is an excellent engagement model: Jia An gets to work on a real-life problem and Paul gets help to progress his important clinical work.”
Of the Master’s course, Jia An says: “Some students who enter the course with a biology background find the mathematics challenging, but I have found that the high standard of mathematics which I learned in China at HIT has really helped me to get the most out of this course. I am developing a unique set of skills which I know are in high-demand, so it is exciting to see where it will take me.”