Rate My Professor Rhiannon Sexton

Rhiannon Sexton serves as Research Manager at the University of Otago, Wellington, within the Division of Health Sciences. She is also the Laboratory Manager for central services at the Wellington campus, located in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences Building. In her roles, she supports research and teaching by managing laboratory operations, processing samples, and coordinating programs such as summer studentships for research supervisors. Laboratory inquiries and studentship-related contacts are directed to her at rhiannon.sexton@otago.ac.nz or +64 4 832 3277.

Sexton holds a Bachelor of Biomedical Science (BBMedSc) from Victoria University of Wellington and was a Master's student at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in 2018. Her laboratory expertise supports projects in the Surgical Cancer Research Group and the Department of Surgery and Anaesthesia. She has been acknowledged in multiple academic works for technical contributions. In the 2023 Emergency Medicine Journal paper 'Diagnostic performance of S100B as a rule-out test for intracranial pathology in head-injured patients presenting to the Emergency Department who meet NICE CT-head criteria - A BRAIN Project Study,' she is specially mentioned alongside other laboratory scientists for contributions to teaching and assay support. The 2025 Advanced Materials Interfaces article 'Development of a Sensitive Electrochemical Aptasensor for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Extracellular Vesicle Detection' thanks her and Dr. Kirsty Danielson for extracellular vesicle sample donations from the Wellington Hospital lab. Student theses in the University of Otago Research Archive (OUR Archive) also recognize her assistance: ESJ Paterson's 2025 work on extracellular vesicles and cervicovaginal fluid; HJ Gower's 2024 thesis on a breath test for bowel cancer; and a study optimizing flow cytometry for monocyte markers, where she is thanked for welcoming support and sample help. Additionally, Sexton judged the 2025 summer studentship poster competition alongside Associate Professor Kirsty Danielson and Dr. Alice Rogan.