Published Mar 11, 2025
Dr Emily Mason may be early in her research commercialisation career, but she’s already gaining a reputation as a positive force for change in New Zealand’s commercialisation ecosystem.
Emily joined our team in July 2024 to support commercialisation of health technology. Before that, she was Programme Manager at University of Auckland’s UniServices, where she ran the national Momentum and Return On Science investment committees.
Emily holds a PhD in chemistry from the Ferrier Research Institute. In the last year of her PhD, Emily realised academia wasn’t for her but she doesn’t regret the time she spent there, as it has made her a better commercialisation manager.
“Having a PhD in chemistry means I understand how to do research, and doing it at Ferrier means that I already have a relationship with University staff and researchers,” she says.
She still works with Ferrier - but rather than running experiments, she’s helping her former labmates navigate the commercialisation journey.
Emily also provides commercialisation consulting on behalf of Wellington UniVentures to the NZ Health Innovation Hub, which helps accelerate and scale healthcare innovations originating from Te Whatu Ora. This role aligns well with her PhD research into drug discovery, where she researched therapies for tuberculosis.
Emily is already contributing to making the ecosystem a better place for commercialisation professionals like herself. She’s especially keen to support those just starting out in their careers.
“The idea is that we make things better for those coming in behind us. Just because it wasn’t there for you, doesn't mean others should have to struggle too.”
She’s part of the Knowledge Commercialisation Australia (KCA) young professionals network where she’s involved in discussions about increasing learning opportunities for young people.
She’s also the incoming chair of 2025 Nexus - Future Leaders in Commercialisation organising committee, a network to support early to mid-career commercialisation professionals.
“The Nexus conference brings together professionals from all over the country and gives them insightful and helpful knowledge, and helps them to mingle with people from the network they may not usually meet.”
Her main piece of advice for anyone interested in commercialisation is to put yourself out there.
“I got here through hard work and the people I know. New Zealand is small and word gets around. Keeping up your networks is important, and so is being visible. If people don’t know you exist, they won’t get in contact.”
Emily with her Nexus team at KCA
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