Young Scholar’s research enlivens hope

A young student, keen on pursuing research in neurosciences, had done everyone around her proud by winning a Doctorate Scholarship at the University of Auckland.

Malvindar Kaur Bains will receive an annual scholarship amount of $25000 free of tax per year for the next three years, allowing her to explore the hitherto not-well known realm of the human brain and seek answers to some of the questions that have been bothering scientists, medical practitioners and ordinary people for centuries.

From her formative years, Malvindar has been intrigued by the cause and effect of a number of ailments affecting the brain and therefore the entire body – diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s – and had since then been determined to undertake research on these life-threatening ailments.

“Malvindar received a top Academic Achiever Scholarship from the University of Auckland four years ago, enabling her to complete her Bachelor of Science degree specialising in Bio Medical Science. She has just completed her Honours degree,” her mother Baljit told us with justifiable pride.

“That should be First Class Honours,’ we supplied hopefully.

The undergraduate scholarship made Malvindar more determined and committed towards academia. It was a moment of great excitement for her and her family.

“The scholarship, awarded (in 2006) to the top 38 students throughout the country, covered my tuition fee, two years of mentoring and $2500 per annum for other expenses,” she said.

Malvindar has had the makings of an academic achiever, a part of it also due to her innate ability to envision the future, identify priorities in life and determine her career.

Eight years ago, she was the youngest to be elected as a student representative to the Board of Trustee of the Waitakere College where she was Year 10 student. Two years later (in 2004), she forfeited the privilege because she believed that the NCEA finals were more important for her future than social frills.

Her efforts did not go unrewarded.

Malvindar scored first at Year 13 examinations, topping in Statistics, English, History and Biology and qualified for the Dux Litterarum Award, given to the top academic performer at the school level.

“My interest in all subjects of science kept growing, while Human Biology held special attention. That was also the time when my desire to be a research scholar developed, motivating me to improve my academic performance,” she said.

Born and raised in a Sikh family of Fijian (her father Manmohan Singh Bains migrated from Suva 30 years ago) and Indian (her mother was born in New Zealand although her parents migrated from Punjab) heritage, Malvindar and her brother Karamjit learnt at an early age that the fame and popularity of an educational institution had little to do with the academic brilliance of its students.

“Every school provides an equal opportunity to every student to learn and apply that learning meaningfully in life and career. There is no such thing as good or bad schools,” their parents said as their children studied at the Henderson North Primary, Henderson Intermediate and Waitakere College.

While Malvindar is conscious of the responsibility that comes with the Scholarship Award, matching her own desire to undertake intensive research, she is also culturally and socially active, an example of which was her role as the leader of a Bollywood dance group at college.

Three years ago, she participated in the Accor $10 Queenstown Race in aid of Cure Kids, an organisation promoting research on curing illnesses affecting children.

Malvindar was among the participants challenged to complete her task with just $10 and raise money. She raised more than $7000 but the event left a deep impact in her.

“The race made me realise the difficulties that people face in life and the arduous task of raising $7000, which is negligible for any research.

“I understood the importance of biomedical research,” she said.

Someday Malvindar will gain her doctorate and work with her seniors and peers to find a lasting cure for diseases that are now considered terminal and have thus far defied successful treatment.

The ensuing generations should be able to reap the benefits of their efforts.