Molly started her undergraduate degree in Physiology and Psychology at the University of Auckland in 2014, studying sensory and integrative neuroscience, protein structure and function, physiology of human organs, and biology of growth and development. She subsequently went onto do her BSc honours degree and worked in the Department of Physiology at the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences under the supervision of Associate Professor Justin Dean. Molly submitted her PhD in Neuroscience Physiology in May 2022 which examined the effects of the extracellular matrix sugar hyaluronan on hippocampal neuron development. She is currently pursuing her passion for research by working as a Research Technician for Associate Professor Justin Dean on the Health Research Council-funded “Treatment of GABAergic interneuron dysfunction in preterm brain injury” project.

Distinctions/Honours:
First Place in thein the light microscopy category part of Biomedical Imaging Research Unit Annual Imaging Competition (2021)

Trainee Professional Development Award from the Society for Neuroscience (2020)

HealtheX AMRF Best Poster Prize (2019)

IBRO World Congress Travel Grant award (2019)

Auckland Medical Research Foundation Doctoral Scholarship (2019 – 2022)

University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship (2018)

FMHS PGSA travel grant (2018)

BSc Physiology, first class honours (2017)

New Zealand Neurological Foundation student travel grant (2017)

First in Course Award in MEDSCI701 (2017)