Jabus first joined us in April 2021 as a research assistant and soon embarked on a PhD. His PhD is through Lincoln University in Christchurch, but he is also co-supervised by Peter Amer and Peter Fennessy here at AbacusBio.

Originally from South Africa, Jabus completed a Bachelor’s degree in animal science and agricultural science, before moving on to do a Master’s degree in animal science (both at Massey University).

After graduating, he worked for DairyNZ as a research technician for nine months, and then on a dairy farm for another nine months before getting married and moving to Dunedin.

Jabus describes himself as a people person, who strives to seek creative solutions for the agricultural sector. His natural curiosity and willingness to learn have also spurred him on to pursue a PhD.

His PhD looks at assessing different approaches to lowering greenhouse gas emissions and evaluating future New Zealand dairy farm systems on the efficient use of nitrogen.