School of Biomedical Sciences at Otago

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.

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/.../plethora-of-projects-receive...

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

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

Congratulations to the seven Pacific tauira who took part in the University’s new biomedical research programme recently.

The month-long Tāmanu Programme allows Pacific students to learn new laboratory techniques in one of the School of Biomedical Sciences research laboratories🔬, develop their academic writing skills and hone their ability to communicate science including an oral presentation on their research.

Read more here

Pacific biomedical programme piloted last year grows | University of Otago A biomedical research programme for Pacific tauira piloted last year has seen more than double the number of participants complete the programme in its second year.

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

Congratulations to Professor Peter Mace who will be presenting his Inaugural Professorial Lecture on Tuesday 10 September, titled "Communication in 3D: Cellular signalling through a structural lens”.

Peter is enthusiastic about sharing how molecular knowledge impacts critical biological processes.

His research has been tackling how the three-dimensional structure of proteins allows them to control cellular behaviour. This aims to understand protein signalling in cancer, inflammation and metabolic diseases.

When: Tuesday 10 September, 5:30pm
Where: Archway 1 Lecture Theatre
More information can be found here, including a link to the livestream site:
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/events/inaugural-professorial-lecture-professor-peter-mace

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.

When it comes to facing the global issue antibiotic-resistant bacteria, Dr Nils Birkholz is on the job👓

Based in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, he is investigating how viruses could present a potential solution to this problem.

Viruses called bacteriophages or phages target bacteria but can’t infect humans.

Phages inject their DNA into the bacterial cell, multiply to large numbers using the resources of the host, and then burst out to infect more bacteria in the vicinity.

This makes them a naturally occurring, self-replicating and specific antibiotic.

They were discovered more than 100 years ago but their use was largely sidelined in favour of antibiotics – not anymore though.

Viruses can work where antibiotics don’t – new research tells us more about how they fight bacteria Viruses known as ‘phages’ might become an essential tool, as antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten conventional remedies.

Entries are open for our annual creative writing competition! ✨📝

Competition Judge and 2024 Robert Burns Fellow Mikaela Nyman has three pieces of advice to help you feel confident in your entries 👇

💡 Whatever your subject or original idea is, make sure you see it through to the very end. Does the text hang together? Does it make sense?

✍️ Pay attention to the overarching narrative arc as well as each paragraph and sentence. Avoid clichés and strive to come up with original turns of phrase.

🎶 Read your work out loud, listen to the rhythm, the music. If you stumble, you might need to revise that particular section.

All the details you need to know about entering Writer 2024 are here 🔗 https://www.otago.ac.nz/english-linguistics/programmes/writing/competition

What better way to showcase the University’s emerging biomedical talent than to bring together a bunch of outstanding postgraduates to present their work. 28 of those students gave talks or presented a poster at the recent annual School of Biomedical Sciences postgraduates symposium.

BMS Dean Lisa Matisoo-Smith said the day-long event was a celebration of the hard mahi put in by the students and the school.
“It is a high point in the BMS year to listen to the diverse and innovative work, and to celebrate their journey of our postgraduates. All of those who presented talks or posters did an amazing job – and did their lab groups, supervisors and the school proud.”
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/2024-bms-postgraduate-symposium-an-outstanding-success

Otago School of Biomedical Sciences PhD graduate Dr Keresoma Leaupepe is on a mission for Pacific gout sufferers.

Keresoma graduated with a PhD in biomedical sciences on 17 August and intends to continue the work he started during his studies – exploring gout in Polynesian populations, specifically genetic associations and curcumin intervention.

Turmeric root, known locally as ago/lega, is abundant in Samoa and has been used traditionally for various ailments, including gout.

Having witnessed first-hand the physical and financial pain of conventional gout medications in Samoa, Keresoma is determined to find out more about treatments involving turmeric.

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.

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

Join Professor Peter Jones from the Department of Physiology for his Inaugural Professorial Lecture titled "Dr Jones and the calcium of doom."

Pete’s research looks at how calcium controls the function of cardiac cells and neurons. Specifically, he aims to understand how changes in calcium signalling leads to arrhythmias, heart failure, seizures, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Graduating from the University of Leeds, Pete pursued an early research career in Canada before moving to Otago.

He is co-director of the HeartOtago research theme, a group of cardiovascular researchers, clinicians, and cardiothoracic surgeons, who use human tissue to specifically address cardiovascular diseases impacting the lives of patients in Aotearoa.

Pete has a passion for engaging with the community via HeartOtago and his role as a board member of the New Zealand International Science Festival. His research is funded by the Health Research Council, Royal Society Marsden Fund, the Heart Foundation, and the Neurological Foundation.

Date: Tuesday, 20 August 2024
Time: 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location: Archway 1 Lecture Theatre, 290 Leith Walk, Dunedin and online
https://www.otago.ac.nz/about/administration/service_divisions/its/services/teaching-and-research-services/streaming/video-streaming-channel-1

Congratulations to not one, but two “Louise’s” based in the School of Biomedical Sciences, having received Neurological Foundation grants recently to research critical neurological issues faced by thousands of New Zealanders.

Anatomy researcher Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie aims to address a common complication in Parkinson's disease treatment that impacts 90% of patients. Her work could lead to improved drug therapies for over 10,000 individuals living with the condition in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Meanwhile, Biochemistry Associate Professor Louise Bicknell will use advanced molecular sequencing to study specific genetic processes that affect both neurodevelopment and neurological ageing diseases. This research will improve understanding of their roles in brain functioning and pave the way for potential therapeutic strategies for common ageing conditions such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.

Read more about these projects here https://neurological.org.nz/research/funded-projects/

Thanks to a world-first study, we now know which genes make a marsupial’s coat black or grey.

Researchers from the University of Otago and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research looked at DNA to find out why possums are one of the few marsupials with natural coat colour variation– grey in mainland Australia possums and often black in Tasmania.

Co-lead Dr Donna Bond, of Otago’s Department of Anatomy, says it turns out interbreeding of the possum subspecies in New Zealand helped to pin down the genes responsible for fur colour quite easily.

“That will provide a good model for studying coat colour in other marsupials,” Dr Bond says.

Researchers find gene which determines marsupial fur colour | University of Otago Fur is a defining characteristic of mammals, coming in a wide variety of colours and patterns – thanks to a world-first study, we now know which genes make a marsupial’s coat black or grey.

Congratulations to Dunedin swimmer and University of Otago physiology graduate Caitlin Deans who has made history at the Paris Olympics.

Along with teammates Erika Fairweather, Eve Thomas and Laticia Transom, Caitlin became the first Kiwi women to compete in a women’s swim relay final at an Olympic Games on Friday, finishing eighth in the women’s 4x200m freestyle relay.

Read about the team’s success here https://www.odt.co.nz/sport/olympics/fairweather-proud-relay-efforts

Caitlin has been juggling her international swimming career with completing her degree in physiology, graduating in August 2023. And Caitlin’s mum Sue Deans is the Department of Physiology’s Technical Manager.

Follow Caitlin’s journey here https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/aquablack-and-alumna-leads-the-field-in-top-level-swimming-and-physiology

Fairweather proud of relay efforts Erika Fairweather and Caitlin Deans created history when they dived into the pool yesterday. The Dunedin duo, alongside team-mates Eve Thomas and...

A Parkinson’s disease diagnosis may soon just be a tear drop away.

Diagnosing the neurodegenerative disease is usually done with blood tests or invasive and expensive lumbar punctures. But a new Neurological Foundation-funded project plans to study tear fluid over the next two years, in the hope it may eventually lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment.

Otago anatomy molecular neurobiologist Associate Professor Joanna Williams, from the School of Biomedical Sciences, is working with a multidisciplinary team of New Zealand researchers, including researchers from the New Zealand Brain Research Institute and the University of Canterbury.

She said tears were an "under-used bio-fluid" that could be useful.

https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/diagnosing-parkinsons-are-answers-a-teardrop-away

A School of Biomedical Sciences researcher is creating 3D structures of native Aotearoa New Zealand viruses to help understand their impact on in our environment.

Dr Alice-Roza Eruera (Ngāpuhi-nui-tonu, Ngāti Ruanui), from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, has been awarded a Kia Niwha Leader Fellowship to create computational 3D structural models that tell us how viruses infect the host cell, and evolve over time.

This could help New Zealand researchers to understand the risk of virus spillover from animals to humans by comparing our native viral structures to known pathogens.

Our native animals are hosts to viruses not found anywhere else in the world. Little is known about these viruses, such as their potential to cause disease or spread to other animals or humans.

AI is used internationally to predict virus components. But more reference models are needed to produce reliable, confident predictions on viruses such as those native to Aotearoa.

These virus structures will be freely available as reference models to guide AI tools.

Alice-Roza is one of six emerging infectious diseases research leaders, and one of two from Otago, to be awarded a Kia Niwha Leader Fellowship from Te Niwha.

These inaugural one-year Fellowships support early and mid-career infectious diseases researchers to undertake targeted research and develop the leadership skills needed to best protect New Zealanders from infectious diseases and their impacts.

Co-hosted by the University of Otago Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka and ESR, Te Niwha is Aotearoa New Zealand’s national infectious diseases research platform.

Are you a third-year or postgrad student?
Keen to show secondary school students what life is like at Otago?
Will you be in Dunedin from 12-17 January?

Get paid to be a Red Shirt helper for Hands-On at Otago 2025. Applications close on Friday, 9 August.

Head to www.otago.ac.nz/hands-on-at-otago/want-to-work-for-us for more info!

Creative writing competition opens | University of Otago The University’s annual creative writing competition opens for entries today, with the theme: A place of many firsts.

An unexpected find has enabled important progress to be made in the battle against harmful bacteria.

An international team of researchers, led by Professor Peter Fineran from the School of Biomedical Sciences, investigated a particular protein used by bacteria-infecting viruses, known as phages.

Research into this microscopic arms race between bacteria and phages is important as it can lead to alternatives to antibiotics. Published in prestigious international journal Nature, the study analysed a protein phages use when deploying anti-CRISPR, their method of blocking the CRISPR–Cas immune system of bacteria.

Lead author Dr Nils Birkholz, also from BMS, says understanding how phages interact with bacteria is an important step on the path to using phages against bacterial pathogens in human health or agriculture.

Surprise discovery with big scientific potential | University of Otago An unexpected find has enabled important progress to be made in the battle against harmful bacteria.

A School of Biomedical Sciences researcher investigating an innovative approach to help people manage diseases associated with the nervous system has been recognised by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Associate Professor Yusuf Ozgur Cakmak has received the Society’s 2024 Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award to support his neuroprosthetics studies into medical wearables. Neuroprosthetics is a fascinating field that focuses on developing devices that work with the nervous system, aiming to restore lost functions or enhance existing ones.

The Charles Fleming Senior Scientist Award is an annual grant to support the research of a senior scientist in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Prestigious Royal Society award to neuroprosthetics academic | University of Otago An Otago researcher investigating an innovative approach to help people manage diseases associated with the nervous system has been recognised by the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

Ngā mihi nui to the School of Biomedical Sciences researchers who have received significant grants in the latest Health Research Council funding round.

Dr Rosemary Brown and Dr Megan Leask, both of the Department of Physiology, received almost $1.2 million each for their research.

These are among seven programme and project grants, worth a total of $12.2 million, that have been announced for Otago.

Read about all the grant recipients below.

Funding awarded to continue critical cancer research | University of Otago Lung cancer is the greatest single cancer contributor to the life expectancy gap between Māori and non-Māori. University of Otago researchers are hoping to change that.

Get ready for the 2024 Bulletin photo competition | University of Otago It’s time to dust-off your cameras and polish your lenses.

Securing a flat is a hot topic among students right now.

Otago first-year student Hannah Jones, who’s majoring in microbiology, plans to go flatting next year but thinks rushing in isn’t a good idea.

“I’m personally not too worried about signing for a flat too quickly as I know that they’re available all year round. I’m more concerned about finding flatmates.”

Place-race heating up for 2025 flats | University of Otago Don’t panic! That’s the message OUSA Student Support manager Dwaine Tait has for students rushing to secure their flat for 2025.

Congratulations to Tandia Gooch, from the Department of Physiology, who is the Masters winner of the 2024 Three Minute Thesis divisional heat for Health Sciences!