Health Sciences at Otago

Twenty-four doctors from rural areas around Aotearoa New Zealand travelled to Rarotonga for the Otago Medical School’s Continuing Medical Education Rural Generalist Workshop.

This three-day workshop (26-28 August) workshop returned to the Cook Islands after a five-year hiatus due to Covid-19. It was organised by Otago’s Centre for Rural Health postgraduate programme in collaboration with the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners’ Division of Rural Hospital Medicine and Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health.

Otago Associate Dean Pacific (Christchurch) Dr Kiki Maoate says the workshop provided an opportunity for doctors working in New Zealand and the Cook Islands to exchange clinical, professional and cultural experiences.

Continuing Medical Education workshop returns to Cook Islands | University of Otago Twenty-four doctors from rural areas around Aotearoa New Zealand were able to share experiences with their Cook Islands counterparts at a workshop held in Rarotonga last week.

Eight of the 12 Otago Research Awards were given to academics based in the Division of Health Sciences 🥳

Vice-Chancellor Grant Robertson is pleased to be able to celebrate both established and emerging researchers at Otago.

“I congratulate these inspiring kairangahau for their achievements and look forward to seeing what they will accomplish in the future,” he says.

Otago honours exceptional researchers | University of Otago The outstanding scholarly achievement and community contributions of University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka researchers have been recognised in this year’s Otago Research Awards.

The annual Matariki Rangahau Series that celebrates Māori health research and researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand was hosted by the University of Otago, Christchurch last week.

This year’s theme for the day-long event was ‘Translational Research and Data Advocacy’ – the process of translating research findings into practical, clinical applications to improve Māori and Pacific patient outcomes.

UOC Dean and Head of Campus Professor Suzanne Pitama (Ngāti Kahungunu) says it was an honour for the Christchurch campus to host this celebrated Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand-organised meeting.

UOC hosts Matariki Rangahau Research Series | University of Otago The University of Otago, Christchurch campus, showcased its mahi and manaakitanga last Friday as first-time hosts of the Matariki Rangahau Series (MRS), an annual event celebrating Māori health research and researchers in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Five of the eight projects to receive Smart Ideas funding are based in the Division of Health Sciences 🎉

Each project will receive $1 million over a period of three years from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment’s (MBIE) latest Endeavour Fund investment round 🥳

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Richard Blaikie is pleased with the results and congratulates the recipients 😎

“Each of these projects will provide real-world impact to Aotearoa New Zealand, across primary, technology and healthcare industries, with positive flow-on effects for communities. The funding also, once again, underscores the stunning range of research being undertaken by so many talented researchers at Otago.”

https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/plethora-of-projects-receive-mbie-funding

The website for the Menstrual Health Research Network has officially launched 🥳

This University of Otago-funded research network is open to researchers at all career stages - anyone with an interest in research and information about menstrual cycles.

The Network aims to improve the mental, physical and spiritual hauora of wāhine, menstruators and communities in Aotearoa New Zealand and across the Pacific by promoting and facilitating high-quality research related to the menstrual cycle that is interdisciplinary, collaborative and encompasses multiple forms of knowledge.

Based in the Department of Anatomy in Dunedin, the networking events are open to both members and non-members alike.

Sign up to the mailing list to receive updates on events and opportunities.

https://www.menstrualhealthresearch.com/

Health Sciences at Otago Providing communities with leading research, teaching and a highly qualified healthcare workforce.

Niranjan Ramesh, a Teaching Fellow with the School of Biomedical Sciences Department of Anatomy, is trading his couch for running shoes and will be tackling the Dunedin 2024 half marathon this Sunday (15 September) to raise funds for those suffering from mental health issues 👟

Read about Niranjan’s journey here https://www.otago.ac.nz/.../making-strides-for-mental-health

If you’re interested in supporting Niranjan and donating to the Mental Health Foundation of NZ, more information can be found here: https://fundraise.mentalhealth.org.nz/niranjanramesh

Associate Professor Caroline Shaw explores the two future transport pathways New Zealand could go down as described by the Climate Change Commission in this opinion editorial 🚗

She found the choices New Zealand makes now will be crucial to improving people’s lives in the near future 😎

Walking and cycling funding has been halved in the recently released National Land Transport Programme which means that the potential health benefits of a low-carbon transport system have taken a hit 🚲

“Health is tangible, while decarbonisation policy is often complex and highly technical. People care deeply about health, both physical and mental,” Caroline says.

“However, we are now faced with climate and transport policy options that will have radically different implications for health.”

Healthier, happier, fairer: new research shows major life benefits from decarbonising transport The health benefits of shifting to a low-carbon transport system could be greater than those achieved by anti-smoking policies, according to a major new study released today.

In part 1 of RNZ’s series on Malaysian students who were educated in Aotearoa during the 1960s and 70s, we hear the story of Hashim Yaacob 🇲🇾

Hashim grew up without electricity or running water in Kelantan, a state neighbouring Thailand, and wasn’t sure what to expect coming here 🇳🇿

Malaysia needed dentists though and so off to Otago's dentistry school he went to be one of five foreigners admitted into the programme each year 🦷

"Imagine someone coming from the jungle into the light; you can't help feeling a little low, a little down,” Hashim says.

“But it changed because my friends were very friendly; it did not matter they were white and I was brown. It also helped I never came last in the examinations!"

NZ's role in helping shape international politicians, doctors and teachers Hashim Yaacob grew up without electricity or running water in Malaysia. But his country needed dentists, so to Otago he went.

Director of the Centre for Translational Cancer Research Professor Parry Guilford and PhD Candidate Jordon Lima appeared on Jenny-May Clarkson’s ‘Sticking it to Cancer’ podcast.

The jargon-free chat explains what precision medicine is and how a revolutionary new technology is changing the game for cancer care with a simple blood test.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/7orqeasigOWGDtWva6F3RA

https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/what-ctdna-could-mean-for-new-zealanders/id1762958433?i=1000665819546

Health Sciences at Otago Providing communities with leading research, teaching and a highly qualified healthcare workforce.

The School of Pharmacy clinic runs weekday medicine assessments where patients can speak with an experienced clinical pharmacist and a fourth-year student 💊

Patients can self-refer or be referred to the clinic by other health professionals – the clinic also offers telehealth consultations anywhere in the South Island 📞

Clinic Lead and Pharmacist-Prescriber Emma Smith says patients might have complex medication regimens and want to learn more about what they’re taking.

Occasionally the clinic is able to identify pressing medical problems, such as one patient who was administered an inhaler due to shortness of breath when they were actually experiencing heart failure.

“Getting the right diagnosis for the right person does save the health system”, Emma says.

The clinic opened in 2019 under the previous Dean, Professor Carlo Marra, with some patients even travelling from Greymouth and Timaru to use the free service.

Free medicines advice clinic a win-win - Daily Encourager 5 HOPES A free clinic is providing people with more understanding of their medicines, and senior pharmacy students with experience of patients. In what seems a win-win, Dunedin’s University of Otago School of Pharmacy Clinic opened in 2019. It was the brainchild of the school’s previous dean, Pr...

Otago academic part of global doctoral training project | University of Otago An Otago academic will play a key role in a multi-million dollar international project to train doctoral candidates in the development of cutting-edge digital technologies in anatomy.

More to the Biostatistics Centre than meets the eye | University of Otago Don’t let the name fool you – there’s a lot more to the role of a biostatistician than numbers and spreadsheets.

Health Sciences First Year (HSFY) tauira Cove Lambert has seen a fair bit of change in his life.

From moving countries, to moving schools, to becoming a foster child, he learnt how to find motivation amongst the challenges.

“Growing up I moved around a fair bit, living in England, Australia, Tauranga and then finally moving to Hawke’s Bay when I was eight.”

“Being a foster kid was never an easy task. Although this was a weight I had to carry, it was also motivation,” Cove says.

“I am thoroughly enjoying my first year, and my motivation to make a positive difference in the sporting community through physiotherapy is driving me to succeed through the challenges this course presents.”

Receiving the Otago 150th Scholarship was a big help as it showed him he could achieve what I work hard for as well as inspiring him to help other people.

From adversity to triumph | University of Otago What might seem like a bump in the road to many, Cove Lambert sees as a launching pad.

Congratulations to Professor Lynn McBain for winning the Australasian Association for Academic Primary Care’s Neil Carson Medal 🥇

The Head of the Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice on the Wellington campus, Lynn was named the winner at the association’s annual conference in Sydney in August 🎉

The association’s Vice President, Professor Sarah Dennis, says the award is a much-deserved recognition of her very significant and ongoing contributions to primary care and medical education 🩺

She will be presented with her medal at the 2024 General Practice and Rural Health Research Symposium in New Zealand in November.

Professor McBain has been with the University since 1995, when she joined the staff as a part-time lecturer, while continuing to work as a general practitioner 💊

She has been Deputy Dean of the Wellington campus since 2022.

Health Sciences at Otago Providing communities with leading research, teaching and a highly qualified healthcare workforce.

Congratulations to forensic anthropologist Dr Angela Clark for being appointed the Australia New Zealand Forensic Executive Committee Agency Endorsed Representative 🎉

Based at the Faculty of Dentistry, Angela’s appointment marks the first time Aotearoa has been represented in forensic anthropology at this level of forensics governance.

“Being endorsed by the New Zealand Police as Aotearoa’s representative at this high governance level is an incredible honour and a significant responsibility,” Angela says.

“It reflects the trust and confidence that the NZ Police have in my abilities and expertise in forensic anthropology.”

Prestigious governance role for Otago academic | University of Otago Aotearoa’s representation at the highest levels of the forensics landscape has taken a leap forward with the appointment of an Otago academic to the peak body for forensic science in Australasia.

Two journeys, one destination | University of Otago Kōrero with Te Papa curators Katie Cooper and Rebecca RiceIn conversation with Dr Katie Cooper, Curator New Zealand Histories and Cultures, and Dr Rebecca Rice, Curator Historical New Zealand Art, two alumnae, who talk about their very different paths from Otago to Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Z...

Microgravity mission for eye health | University of Otago An Otago ophthalmologist has gone to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere for his ocular research.

On a mission for Pacific gout sufferers | University of Otago A PhD graduate is on a mission for Pacific gout sufferers. Having witnessed first-hand the physical and financial pain of conventional gout medications in Samoa, Dr Keresoma Leaupepe is determined to find alternative treatments.

The 57th edition of Otago Magazine has just landed 🎉

Inside, Hon Grant Robertson shares his thoughts on becoming the University’s new Vice-Chancellor, as well as getting the scoop on:

• Celebrating 150 years of Medicine at Otago.
• The Otago-designed telescope making the universe more accessible.
• The life-saving Otago research winning the Prime Minister’s Science Prize.

And much, much more!

OtagoMagazine_57

Congratulations to Senior research fellow and statistician Dr Jesse Kokaua for being awarded the Pacific Health Research Emerging Leadership Fellowship 🥳

Based in the Va’a O Tautai he receives this award soon after being awarded more than $500,000 in the latest Health Research Council funding round.

His research is on how Pacific ethnicity groups respond to poverty and what they each do differently to negotiate its effects.

It is well-documented that low socioeconomic status has a major impact on health, he says.

“If you look at areas of socioeconomic deprivation, there are pockets of poverty for sure, but there are also pockets of relative wellness in there. I’m interested in how communities stay well under those circumstances.”

Pacific resilience focus of HRC-funded research | University of Otago Pacific resilience in the face of poverty will be the focus of one researcher’s work after securing more than $500,000 in the latest Health Research Council funding round.

Finding your own way key to PhD success | University of Otago Otago PhD graduand Rosee Hodgson knows a fair bit about juggling commitments.

Fantastic to see the tauira of Queens High School visit!

Twenty secondary-school students spent the day getting a tour of the cutting-edge Eccles Building 😎

Students learnt about what it means to be researcher in a world-class medical research facility through this hands-on field trip ‍🥼

Ka mau te wehi!

It’s hoped a University of Otago collaboration will be able to shed more light on virus-related schizophrenia.

Connections between influenza and psychosis have long been known. Otago School of Biomedical Sciences researcher Professor Ping Liu is now in China collaborating with the Shanghai Mental Health Centre (SMHC) looking at psychosis in the children of pregnant mother's infected with the Covid-19 virus.

This research could eventually lead to an effective preventive and treatment for maternal infection schizophrenia, and a reliable and simple biomarker detection test.

Read more in the Otago Daily Times https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/magazine/cure-future

Gail Donaldson graduated with a PhD in Physiotherapy this past weekend after 30 years of treating patients, raising four children and running a business 🎉

Achieving this doctorate was a marathon not a sprint as she did it part-time over 10 years, across the globe, while operating her own hand therapy practice in Wellington 😎

The School of Physiotherapy graduate was the ninth born in her family, grew up in rural New Zealand, and was the only one who went on to do tertiary education ✏️

Gail credits a considerable part of her journey to her mother who passed away when she was young and who was not allowed an education after completing primary school as she was expected to work within the home.

Her mother’s experience motivated Gail to pursue education and encourage her children, especially her daughters, to do the same 💙

PhD 10 years in the making | University of Otago Dr Gail Donaldson found achieving her doctorate in hand therapy was a marathon not a sprint – she did it part-time over 10 years, across the globe, while raising her family and operating her own hand therapy practice in Wellington.

The University of Otago’s Faculty of Dentistry is hoping to take pressure off Aotearoa’s overburdened healthcare system with the creation and implementation of a new postgraduate certificate.

Teaching for the year-long Adult Restorative Dental Care certificate recently began and is designed to enable practising dental therapists and oral health therapists to provide restorative dental care (fillings) to patients aged 18 years and older.

Course coordinator Associate Professor Susan Moffat says having dental and oral health therapists qualified in this way may help ease the patient load other dental experts are currently facing, particularly in rural areas where there are more workforce shortages.

“Currently dental therapists provide routine oral health care to children and adolescents but are not allowed to provide this care to adults,” Susan says.

“While oral health therapists can provide some care for adults, as well as care to children and adolescents, they have a condition on their practice limiting the restorative dental care they can provide to patients who are under 18 years of age.”

New certificate increasing dental care access | University of Otago The University of Otago’s Faculty of Dentistry is hoping to take pressure off Aotearoa’s overburdened healthcare system with the creation and implementation of a new postgraduate certificate.