Sara Edwards

Dr. Sara Edwards was appointed AgResearch's Associate Research Director – Delivery, in August 2020. This role is focused on project delivery and how our portfolio of projects is strategically aligned to delivering AgResearch’s Science Plan.

Sara has previously held other leadership roles within AgResearch, firstly as Science Team Leader for Reproduction and most recently as acting Science Group Leader for Animal Science. Originally from the UK, Sara studied at Manchester University gaining a BSc (Hons.) in genetics and going on to complete a PhD which was focused on positional cloning of the gene mutated in a rare disorder: Treacher Collins syndrome.

After emigrating to New Zealand in 1996 she went on to work in both human and animal cell biology and molecular genetics, applying her skills to answer questions in different fields from cancer biology to sheep reproduction. From a very urban English background, Sara has actively increased her understanding of farming and how research findings can be applied on-farm and is currently Associate Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Agricultural Research.