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USC basketballer shoots for science goals
When Ying Lee moved from Hong Kong to the Sunshine Coast last July, she had no idea her studies would take her from fishing the depths of the Southern Ocean to flying high on a Sippy Downs basketball court.
The 24-year-old University of the Sunshine Coast student is now training hard for the 2009 Northern University Games while working on her Honours project in biotechnology.
The Games, to be run by Australian University Sport on the Sunshine Coast from 5-8 July, will attract more than 1,000 students from universities across Queensland and northern NSW. Students will compete in sports like beach volleyball, football and lawn bowls, and attend social events.
Ying, who played competitive university basketball in Hong Kong while doing her science degree, said she especially appreciated the social aspect of team sports after moving to the Sunshine Coast.
But she required a different kind of fitness earlier this year when she accompanied her USC supervisor, Professor in Aquaculture Biotechnology Abigail Elizur, to the turbulent waters off Port Lincoln, South Australia.
“I was seasick on the boat all day but it was a very good experience for my Honours project,” Ying said.
“We had to collect fish samples, such as brain tissue, to bring back to analyse at the laboratory here at USC.”
Ying aims to isolate the gene that controls puberty in tuna and kingfish.
“It’s very interesting because if the timing of puberty in fish can be manipulated, that can be linked to economic gain in the industry,” she said.
Ying has enjoyed finding her independence while studying at USC. “The campus is quiet, the students are very nice and the staff very helpful,” she said.
She plans to do a PhD in Australia with the career goal of becoming a molecular biologist.
Professor Elizur was recently awarded the USC Vice-Chancellor’s Medal for Outstanding University Researcher 2009 after her involvement in a world-first spawning of captive southern bluefin tuna near Port Lincoln.
USC, as partner university to the Northern University Games, will host some of the sporting events over the four days in July.
— Julie Gatehouse