Rhiannon Adams, who last year won the The Mervyn Smith Prize for the student with the highest level of attainment in biochemistry in the first year MSc class, has been awarded the Marjorie McCallum MSc scholarship for 2022
Rhiannon's research project involves enrichment of three bioactive the whey proteins osteopontin, lactoferrin, and lactoperoxidase from cow, sheep, goat, and deer milk, to compare and facilitate investigations of these proteins as individual molecules and as part of an interactive complex. Her supervisor is Associate Professor Alan Carne.
Rhiannon spent her childhood in the Manawatū, Christchurch, and Eindhoven in the Netherlands. In 2018, she returned to New Zealand to begin studying at the University of Otago where she developed an interest in biochemistry and pharmacology.
After completing a BSc in biochemistry in 2020, Rhiannon decided to pursue an MSc, and feels she has "returned to her roots" of the Manawatū farm in her studies of dairy products.