Study Physiology at Otago

Kaj Kamstra:

G’day, my name is Kaj and I study Physiology at the University of Otago. Originally, I’m from the Netherlands, but a few years ago I decided to come to Dunedin to study for my postgraduate degree. What convinced me to do this was the combination of learning from top-notch academics and living in a place with a pretty unique student culture.

So, Physiology is the study of how the human body works. The more you learn about this topic, the better you understand yourself. So, if you want to study the human body and have a good time while doing so, Otago is the place to be.

Associate Professor Alexander Tups:

Have you ever wondered how our body works? If you’ve wondered how the mechanisms of life function, well, then Physiology is for you. We study how our body works from cellular mechanisms and how cells communicate—this is one of our areas of expertise—down to how the heart beats and how the heart works. My expertise is how the brain works.

We have these three big streams, and if you’ve ever wondered why we’re actually able to wake up before the alarm clock rings (maybe less useful, but your parents might do so), we have a clock in our brain. This would be interesting if you want to study neuroscience, for example, because then you would understand how this clock actually works.

Another thing is, if you watch smartphones in the evening or are exposed to blue light from your computer screen when you study, this is actually detrimental. It can interrupt the clock in your brain, leading to obesity, diabetes later on, and cognitive decline. So, if you want to understand these big pictures—how systems in our body interact with the big picture, and how it relates to your later life and longevity—then Physiology might be an interesting subject for you.

Well, entry qualifications are first-year subjects like Human Body Systems. You need to select two papers out of Human Body Systems, and then you can choose from Chemistry, Physics, Cells, and Biochemistry. You need to choose papers from those.

Why would you study at Otago? Well, we are in a unique position in the world. We have a campus, unlike other universities in New Zealand, and you will have an amazing life down at Otago—I can tell you. We are also a very international university, so you will have great cultural input, which is unique to Otago. This combination is also important. For example, we have world-class facilities in our department and at the university. You can work with confocal laser scan microscopes or even with atomic force microscopes. If you want to understand what they are, study Physiology.

What can you do when you study Physiology? This is an interesting question—what are our career paths? You can become a lecturer or professor, which is the career path that I chose because I’m really interested in the subject. We stimulate the interest of many students because it’s such a basic science, and it’s so important to know how our body functions. If you’re really interested in the subject, then you have a good chance of becoming a professor.

But more important is that we learn to understand scientific literature. We need to have our own ideas and build our own arguments based on scientific reading and understanding the scientific context, to make an informed decision. This is really important for the future jobs you seek because it’s something people look for.

You could also work in areas related to IT, medical research, universities, private institutions, crown institutions, or even private industry.