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Autumn 2026 17 TwoMiller Scholars, two decades apart, two incredible careers – and just one name As we flicked through the first issue of Headlines , we glimpsed a small article about Kathryn Jones, a University of Otago student who had just been awarded the Miller scholarship to investigate neurodegeneration. Where is she now, we wondered. A quick google revealed a University of Auckland email address for Dr Kathryn Jones, so we got in touch. Her reply was unexpected. “How fascinating! That is not me,” she wrote. “I would’ve been in Standard 4/ Year 6 at that time. However, I also received a Miller Scholarship from 2008-2011 for my PhD at the University of Auckland, also working on neurodegeneration! Perhaps you should do a feature on us both – same name, decades apart.” So where was the other Dr Kathryn Jones? An internet search drew a blank, so we reached out to a renowned memory expert at the University of Otago, Distinguished Professor Cliff Abraham, to see if he could offer any leads. He did some detective work for us, and discovered Kathryn had been supervised by his colleague Professor Dorothy Oorschot. Reaching out to Dorothy revealed another clue – Kathryn now works at New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, and an invitation to connect on LinkedIn was accepted. We had found the other Kathryn Jones! “Wow – that was a long time ago,” she replied when we made contact. “I think I still have that copy of Headlines .” Questions were sent to both Kathryns, and their stories unfolded. It turns out that although they’ve both long-since left the lab, these brilliant women are still passionate about science, immersed in the greater good, and investing their immense skill and talent in building our country’s future. The ‘first’ Dr Kathryn Jones has spent her whole career trying to get science and technology treatments into the hands of people that need them. After completing her PhD at Otago, she worked for Professor Sir Peter Gluckman, the University of Auckland’s Dean of Medicine at the time, on the commercialisation of intellectual property from his research group, working across several biotechnology ventures, notably Neuren Pharmaceuticals, an ASX-listed company that developed a drug with partners approved for the treatment of Rett syndrome, a rare genetic neurological and developmental disorder. “I gained intellectual property and business development skills during this period,” says Kathryn. “I also learned that getting treatments to people who need them requires money.” Later, Kathryn became a connector and business coach for NewZealand Trade &Enterprise (NZTE), our country’s business development agency. “This has involvedworking withmany science and technology companies in the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries. I’ve learned a lot about commercialising science and technology.” Kathryn’s family and mentors supported her decision to try something different, but related, to the bench science path she started out on. Something curious happened when we began work on this 150th issue of Headlines. What started as a small idea ended up shedding light on the world of neuro-research in a way we couldn’t have anticipated – giving insight into the extraordinary, far-reaching and ongoing impact made by the Neurological Foundation and its supporters across decades.