Gertje is a dynamic scientist charged with a strong sense of purpose, which is to create positive impacts in agriculture. Originally a veterinarian from Germany, she first joined AbacusBio in 2013 as a research assistant and later on graduated with a genetics PhD at the University of Otago in May 2019. She has an eagerness to make science relevant in delivering benefits to farmers and food producers.
Gertje is working on honeybee genetics, breeding program design, and animal health management. Having grown up on a sheep, beef, and horse breeding farm herself, she is apt on building relationships with clients based on empathy and respect.
Gertje’s career highlights include:
- Shifting careers and taking the leap to the other end of the world because I had found a dynamic company full of interesting people that I wanted to work with.
- Seeing my PhD project being leveraged into a NZ$6.4Mio industry-wide project, FutureBees NZ
Her focus within AbacusBio is:
- Genetics of unusual livestock species, mainly honeybees
- Breeding programme design
- Animal health management
