Source: ESR
“I’m sure it sounds clichéd, but it’s really nice to know that, as a scientist, you’re working on something that has a real importance for everyday New Zealand. That’s much more of a driver for me than money could ever be – feeling like I’m doing something that is of value to society,” says Mary Jane McCarthy, Manager of ESR’s Forensic Toxicology and Pharmaceutical units.
When Mary-Jane was at school, she was always good at the sciences, particularly biology.
“Initially, I had my heart set on being a marine biologist,” she says. “I was particularly drawn to ocean ecology and the marine mammals. Yet, when I got to university, I discovered that I didn’t really like the subjects I’d chosen.”
Instead, Mary Jane picked up a random course in biochemistry and loved it – and it set her on a path focused around medical and health science.
Her first job after university was DNA fingerprinting of humpback whales – including a trip around the archipelago of Tonga collecting samples.
“This was like my initial two loves coming together – marine biology and molecular biology – and it was all I could have dreamed of,” she says.
