Neville Jopson is an “AB OG” (an AbacusBio Original).
The route to AbacusBio
Growing up in East Otago, Neville wanted to be a marine biologist, just like Jacques Cousteau on the telly. By the time he was university age, he’d spent enough time on friends’ farms to know that agriculture was his calling. He headed to Lincoln University (then Lincoln College) to study soils within a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree.
“The good thing about Lincoln was that I got to try everything and found animals were more interesting than soils.”
After completing his degree, he got an invitation for a summer internship at AgResearch Invermay (then MAFTech) and published his first scientific paper. This led to the offer of a PhD, researching seasonality in deer, which included two years at the University of New England, Armidale, in Australia.
As part of his PhD, Neville was coerced to sit in on a postgraduate advanced animal genetics course, and he was one of the first to put Armidale’s newly acquired CT scanner through its paces. This latter skill led to a postdoctoral fellowship in Norway in 1994, before he returned to New Zealand to work with AgResearch and Pāmu (then Landcorp), who had just partnered to establish the “InnerVision” CT scanning joint venture which has been used for genetic selection of meat production in sheep and deer ever since.
“In the 28 years since its inception, InnerVision has CT scanned 10,500 rams and 1,500 stags for breeders, as well as tens of thousands of animals for various research programmes.”
In 2001, Peter Fennessy and Jock Allison combined their respective consultancies and managed to convince the young and impressionable Dr Jopson to jump ship from AgResearch to join the newly established “Abacus Biotech”.
“Looking back, I recognise that I was fortunate to have a wide range of experiences which taught me how to solve complex problems. I’ve also learned that the perfect can be the enemy of the good. At AbacusBio, we’d rather get a solid, practical answer that works for the industry, even if it isn’t at 100%. Most of the time, getting a solution to 80% is what you need to solve the problem.”
neville jopson phd
Specialist areas and projects
CT and ultrasound imaging:
- Application of CT and ultrasound imaging and analysis to livestock industries
- Carcass classification
- Integration of carcass traits into livestock breeding programmes
Genetics:
- Employing modern genetic principles to improve animal selection
- Establishment and management of Beef + Lamb New Zealand Central Progeny Test
- Genetics advances in aquaculture programmes
Commercial/economic:
- Statistical and economic modelling of technology applications
- Beef cattle feedlot data analysis and decision making, including mobile application to assist in cattle selection
- Managing stakeholder relationships and communications across a diverse range of opportunities and challenges within the New Zealand meat industry
Many other talents
It is not only Neville’s technical skills that make him an asset to AbacusBio. Here is a non-exhaustive list of what the AbacusBio team appreciate about Neville:
- Legal Eagle: Neville is the unofficial in-house fine print reviewer, always ready and willing to search out an errant “notwithstanding the foregoing”
- Dad Joke Archivist: Never one to miss an audience, Neville is always prepared with a repertoire of dad jokes, carefully curated for maximum impact when colleagues’ children make an office appearance
- Paper Hoarder: When it comes to “just in case,” Neville’s collection of paper records from the last 25 years is unrivalled, doubling as both historical archive and impromptu office insulation. Hannah still feels guilty for that time she threw out that hand-written note from 2007 when cleaning out the storeroom
- Band leader of Flight of the Bobbseys: the only folk-comedy duo to be simultaneously ranked NZ’s 6th and 18th most popular act, depending on whether Dr Jopson remembered to tune his guitar
- Prankster-in-Residence: Whether it’s Cheryl in Finance (or frankly anyone in a ten-metre radius from his desk), Neville’s increasingly elaborate pranks keep the workplace lively and remind us all not to take ourselves too seriously
- Chief Common-Sense Officer: Neville has a knack for cutting through the complexity, offering up practical wisdom and clear-eyed solutions that keep our ship steady and our spirits high
In short, Neville embodies a blend of expertise, humour, warmth, and wisdom. His technical acumen is matched only by his generosity of spirit and ability to foster camaraderie among colleagues. Whether he’s untangling legal jargon, brightening the office with banter, or offering sensible guidance when it’s needed most, Neville’s presence is a daily reminder of the value of integrity, collaboration and kindness in building a thriving workplace.
Contact Neville on 021 340 695 or njopson@abacusbio.co.nz.
