Mark Robinson came to the University of Otago from Whangarei in 2003.
He immediately attracted attention and this wasn't just because he is tall, dark and handsome! A quick glance at his academic record explains why all the staff that came into contact with him were so keen for Mark to continue in science - in 3 years of undergraduate study only one of his marks slipped below an A.
After completing the Health Science First Year programme Mark continued in the interdisciplinary BBiomedSc degree, majoring in Infection and Immunity.
His graduating year of 2005 has been one of the most successful years in the history of this degree, with 8 students continuing to BBiomedSc Honours.
Mark was awarded a First Class Honours degree in 2006 - his overall mark of 92% has never been surpassed.
Mark enrolled in a PhD in 2007 and was awarded both a Pukehou Pouto Scholarship and an AGMARDT (Agricultural and Marketing Research & Development Trust) Scholarship.
Mark's PhD topic was on The immunology of Johne's Disease (inflammatory bowel disease) in deer.
His supervisors were Professor Frank Griffin and Dr Rory O'Brien in the Department of Microbiology & Immunology.
Mark has completed his thesis in record time - quite an achievement in an experimental discipline, involving an infectious cycle that takes at least one year to establish disease.
His supervisors cannot speak highly enough of Mark.
Professor Griffin comments "During his PhD Mark developed a technology platform to chart pathways of cellular immunity in outbred animals, that is leading edge and far in advance of what would be expected from a PhD project.
This guy is so good that he is qualified to work in hard areas of immunology involving complex human or animal diseases".
Mark is now heading off-shore to begin a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Glasgow - founded in 1451 and one of the most prestigious of the British Universities.
Glasgow is one of the "world's top 100" universities and is a major research powerhouse.
Mark has been awarded a Medical Research Council early-career postdoctoral position in the Virology Unit at Glasgow University.
He will be working alongside clinicians on a 3-year funded project on hepatitis C in humans, studying the development of liver pathology and investigating why some patients spontaneously cure from hepatitis C.
The inter-disciplinary skills that Mark has developed during his BBiomedSc degree and his PhD will provide a great background for the next stage in his career and we all wish him all the best for the future.