Mema o Te Apārangi | Member profile: Amy Marshall

Tell us about your role and how long have you worked at Royal Society Te Apārangi?

I joined the  Society in 2017, returning home to New Zealand from conducting cancer research abroad.  In this role I help to run the selection rounds to decide which research projects will be supported by the Marsden Fund and which researchers will receive fellowships.  Once awarded, we help publicise the research projects and researchers.  We then monitor the funded research projects through to completion and get a front-row seat to many exciting research discoveries!

What has been a defining highlight of your experience at the Society? 

I was fortunate to be involved in the design and delivery of the Whitinga Fellowships, which were funded by MBIE to support outstanding early-career researchers whose work had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  This was the first fellowship scheme in which the Society used a stratified selection ballot.  The aim was to ensure that the demographics of the recipients would match those of people in Aotearoa New Zealand as a whole.  These Whitinga Fellows have gone on to do excellent research and were able to continue their careers in the research sector.  The Society will use a similar selection ballot for the new Mana Tūāpapa Fellowships for Future Leaders.

Why did you choose to work in science and research?

My father passed away from cancer when I was 14 years old.  I always had a keen interest in biology, and, as I went off to university, I only became more interested in learning about the genetic changes that lead to cancer formation, development, metastasis, and ultimately death. More importantly, what can we learn from each genetic change, and how can we target these changes to treat disease? 

After leaving research behind to achieve a better work-life balance, I now enjoy learning about all of the diverse areas of research that are going on in Aotearoa and the exciting discoveries being made.

When not working, I enjoy...

Hanging out with my family, learning to rollerblade, taking Fight®, and Centergy® classes at the gym, doing arts and crafts, and renovating my house.