UNIVERSITY of Adelaide student Paige Mazoudier has been named the 2020 winner of a $1500 science bursary presented annually to a female post-graduate undertaking studies in agriculture, fisheries, natural resource management or forestry science.
As winner of the SARDI Science Bursary for Women, Ms Mazoudier would normally use the prize to further her studies, but she is currently taking a one year study hiatus due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Mazoudier, who is enrolled in a Doctor of Philosophy in the School of Animal and Veterinary Science with her studies focused on 'Reducing the financial impact of endemic conditions in sheep - a value chain approach', plans to pick up her studies again in 2021.
Made aware of her win earlier this year, she had been planning on using the bursary funds to travel to a conference, however COVID-19 has seen most industry events postponed or cancelled.
"My PhD will take more of a social sciences approach and once I get back in my studies, I'm looking forward to working with South Australian producer groups, learning about production systems, and helping to reduce the cost impact of diseases on sheep supply," she said.
"I want to understand how feedback about disease prevalence in abattoir processing can affect the on-farm decision making process for farmers, and explore how that can impact animal health and costs.
"This project aligns strongly with my own passions and interests and the PhD program here at University of Adelaide offers great opportunity for personal and professional development.
"I had hoped to attend a conference to present a paper from my Honours work, 'Quantifying disease and defect carcase losses at processing to improve feedback in the lamb supply chain: An arthritis case study'.
"Unfortunately that won't be possible now, but I'm exploring other learning opportunities, like webinars or short courses, to further contribute to the sheep industry."
Ms Mazoudier is passionate about agriculture and studied her undergraduate degree at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga.
She became heavily involved in the local show society, eventually becoming the 2017 ambassador, known as a Wagga Showgirl.
The SARDI science bursary was established in 1994 to celebrate the South Australian Women's Suffrage Centenary.
Start the day with all the big news in agriculture. Sign up here to receive our daily Stock Journal newsletter.
