Leigh Lauv graduates with a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Laboratory Science, saying it was the quizzical nature of the profession that first caught her eye.
Today Leigh Lauv graduates as a real-life Sherlock Holmes.
However, unlike the famous detective, Leigh is a medical laboratory scientist, meaning the mysteries she unravels are rooted in scientific evidence rather than the wildly speculative claims of literature’s favourite investigator.
She graduates with a Postgraduate Diploma in Medical Laboratory Science from the University of Otago, saying it was the quizzical nature of the profession that first caught her eye.
"I enrolled in Health Science First Year right after finishing school, but it wasn’t until partway through that I learnt about this degree,” Leigh says.
“Once I learnt about it, it felt like the perfect fit as I loved the idea of being a real bona fide scientist and solving diagnostic puzzles to help improve patient outcomes.”
Her placement at Awanui Labs in Wellington helped her get hands-on lab experience and made for a special moment when she would go on to get a permanent job there.
Working in the lab confirmed she was in the right field for her and inspired her curiosity as to how diagnostics could be improved. It was this same curiosity that motivated Leigh to return to Otago to do postgraduate study.
Completing her research project was the highlight of the experience; even though working with such a large dataset meant she had to relearn first-year content of coding for statistical analysis.
“It was fascinating finding trends in data and linking them to what we see in real life,” she says.
“For example, seeing higher vitamin D deficiency rates in Asian populations surprised me at first, but once I thought about factors like skin pigmentation and lifestyle factors, it started to make sense.”
Leigh also appreciated the variety of coursework which introduced her to other specialties and broadened her scope of diagnostic science.
One of the research-focused papers she completed brought together professionals from a variety of healthcare backgrounds, providing insight into how lab work directly connects with and impacts patients.
Her positive experience has left her encouraging other students to consider Medical Laboratory Science as a career pathway, as well as postgraduate study as a way to enhance their skills.
Leigh is now based in Wellington and plans to start a master’s degree at Otago’s Wellington campus, which is right next door to her workplace.
There she plans to move into the field of neuroimmunology – the study of the interactions between the nervous system and the immune system – which will be another collaborative project with Awanui Laboratories.
“This will allow me to be more hands-on with the practical and diagnostic side of lab work and will make for the perfect stepping stone into neuroscience research.”
Balancing full-time work with full-time study was challenging at times, but Leigh credits much of her success to the help she received from her Supervisor Dr Diane Kenwright and Chemical Pathologist Dr Melissa Yssel at Awanui Labs.
“I’m really grateful for the support I got from both Awanui Laboratories and Otago. Having the opportunity to contribute to research with practical value to our health system has been incredibly motivating. I hope my work in neuroimmunology will help make advanced diagnostic testing more accessible and equitable across Aotearoa New Zealand.”
-Kōrero by the Division of Health Sciences Communications Adviser, Kelsey Swart.
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