Dr Privahini Bradoo
Privahini Bradoo developed a taste for bioscience’s entrepreneurial opportunities during her PhD before going on to co-found an e-waste recycling company in California.
Key facts
Position: Chief Executive of BlueOak Resources (formerly BioMine), an e-waste recycling company she co-founded in 2010 at the Nasa Ames campus in Mountain View, California.
Programme: PhD, awarded 2008
Research topic: Discovery of the novel mouFSnr gene and its in situ expression profile
Primary supervisor: Professor Sir Peter Gluckman
Dr Privahini Bradoo developed a taste for bioscience’s entrepreneurial opportunities during her PhD research at the Liggins Institute, which she commenced following completion of a Bachelor of Technology in Biomedical Science with a First Class Honours (The University of Auckland, 2002).
Her project, which was co-supervised by Dr. Frank Sieg a scientist at biotechnology company Neuren Pharmaceuticals, confirmed the existence of a family of genes involved in the survival and regeneration of brain cells.
At the same time she started two student-led not-for-profit ventures at the University of Auckland: Spark and Chiasma.
In 2006 she won a coveted Fulbright-Platinum Triangle Scholarship in Entrepreneurship and a place in the MBA programme at Harvard Business School (HBS), from which she graduated in 2008.
In 2011 Privahini won the HBS second annual Alumni New Venture Contest representing the start-up company BioMine, of which she is co-founder and CEO. BioMine uses existing scaled-up mining industry technologies to capture some of the $70 billion worth of metals and rare earths from electronic goods discarded as "e-waste" around the world each year.
The University of Auckland named Dr Bradoo Young Alumna of the Year among its 2012 Distinguished Alumni Awards.
Privahini believes she has always been entrepreneurial.
“I guess a lot of people see an entrepreneur as someone who sets up a business,” she says.
“To me it means taking risks in the constant pursuit of opportunities.”
Dr Privahini Bradoo spoke about her career at the University of Auckland Distinguished Alumni Awards event Auckland Live!
Dr Bradoo was profiled in a news article in the NZ Herald's Soaring Kiwis series which highlighted the achievements of New Zealanders who are making an impact internationally.
Explore the current list of masters and doctoral research projects on offer and their supervisors.