Young Scientist of the Year Funded by New Zealand Freemasons

Jessie Jacobsen, a PhD student in The University of Auckland’s Department of Anatomy with Radiology, has been named New Zealand’s Young Scientist of the Year for 2007 for her work on Huntington’s disease. Jessie is one of four University of Auckland students chosen as outstanding scientists in this year’s MacDiarmid awards from the 120 entries into the award competition. The awards ceremony was held in Auckland recently. With the support of Freemasons New Zealand, Jessie’s PhD looks at the progression of Huntington’s disease in sheep. Understanding how Huntington’s disease develops in a large animal with a similar brain structure to humans could give scientists some insight into how the disease develops in the human brain, which will assist in the development and testing of new treatments for this and other neurological disorders.
    Freemasons New Zealand has supported the transgenic Huntington’s disease project lead by New Zealand’s preeminent neuroscientist, Professor Richard Faull, from the very outset. Professor Faull commented: ‘The Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences is hugely indebted to the Freemasons of New Zealand for their generous and unstinting support of this research. We are really starting to make progress now and this honour for Jessie is wonderful recognition not only of Jessie’s ability but of the loyalty and dedication of our funding partners, the Freemasons.’
    As winner of the MacDiarmid Young Scientist of the Year title, Jessie Jacobsen will earn a trip to the British Association Festival of Science along with a NZ$10,000 grant.

Scottish Rite Racing Team

The Scottish Rite Racing Team was officially launched earlier this year on the steps of the House of the Temple in Washington DC. Representatives of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, the racing team itself and members of the masonic community were on hand to see the team car unveiled. The Scottish Rite Race Car will be driven by veteran driver Brian Conz, 32°, a member of Thomas Hughes Lodge, No. 574, Livonia, Michigan, amongst other masonic bodies.
    He began his racing career in 1988 and has 15 wins, 79 top fives and 108 top ten finishes to his credit. Robert B. Heyat, Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Washington DC, said ‘We think it is a major accomplishment to provide such a public relations opportunity, which is also in step with our strategic plan.’ The Supreme Council 33° Southern Jurisdiction is not providing financial sponsorship of the Scottish Rite Racing Team, but is serving as its primary affiliation, by lending its name to the team and providing staff support for masonic activities related to the race program. Through the program the Scottish Rite hopes to increase public awareness of the fraternity.