University of Otago student Emma Dixon is one of four people to be awarded the prestigious William Georgetti Scholarship to study overseas.
The awards were announced by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors Committee (NZVCC) and Public Trust this week.
Ms Dixon, who attended Palmerston North High School, was awarded $75,000 over three years to attend Oxford University, where she plans to study for a doctorate in biochemistry, combining structural biology and the study of infectious diseases.
She hopes to work with Dr Nicole Zitzmann, whose laboratory conducts research on major human pathogens like hepatitis C.
The William Georgetti Scholarship is awarded to encourage postgraduate study and research in a field important to the social, cultural and economic development of New Zealand. It was established as a perpetual charitable trust from the estate of William Georgetti, who died in 1943.
The Scholarship Board includes the Governor-General, the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice, two people of academic distinction and the President of Federated Farmers, or their nominees.
The other winners were: Tehnuka Ilanko ($108,000 over three years), of the University of Waikato, to study at Cambridge University; Rebecca Rose ($45,000), of the University of Waikato (her place of study not confirmed); and Richard Zhang ($90,000 over three years), of the University of Canterbury, to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
