Nyakuoy Yak
(She/Her)
Associate Research Assistant (incoming PhD Student) & Academic Tutor
Sudanese/South Sudanese Australian, living in Brisbane, Australia
Nyakuoy was born in the Abyei Area (a joint sovereignty zone between two republics: Sudan and South Sudan) and immigrated as a refugee to Australia with her family in 2005. Her interests include education, science, economics, leadership, and domestic/foreign policy.
She completed her Bachelor of Science (2018) and Masters of Philosophy (2022) and is undertaking a PhD in Neuroscience (Joensuu Lab) at the Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology and Queensland Brain Institute (University of Queensland). In 2022, Nyakuoy was awarded a Westpac Future Leaders Scholarship and will undertake six months of overseas experience to develop skills in advanced microscopy and multi-modal image analysis. Her PhD involves imaging single molecules in live brain cells and unravelling how they are organised in space and time to mediate communication and progression of neurodegenerative disorders.
Nyakuoy is an active member of her community, loves science communication, STEM outreach programs, mental health advocacy and values collective, community driven modes of leadership. She looks forward to joining the HB8, undertaking the program in 2023 and joining the alumni!
