The arrival of the cooler weather means a spike in flu and other winter illnesses, which spells a particularly busy time for our WellKiwis team based at ESR’s Wallaceville Science Centre. This year marks five years since the WellKiwis programme launched, the fourth iteration of SHIVERS (Southern Hemisphere Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness Research) led by Honorary…

Our Autumn 2023 newsletter welcomes Dr Rose Collis from AgResearch to the OHA Management Group as the Early Career Research Representative. We also review the 8th OHA Symposium held late last year and focus on climate change from the One Health perspective. Read the OHA Autumn 2023 Newsletter

A group of health and education experts have published seven key goals in a mission to protect schools from COVID‑19 and other infectious disease outbreaks. They say the initiative is designed to prevent a repeat of 2022, when New Zealand’s policy of “business-as-usual” school-based infection control resulted in serious and inequitable impacts on health and…

A Massey One Health team, composed of researchers from Tāwharau Ora School of Veterinary Science and the Research Centre for Hauora and Health, has received funding from the Wellcome Trust to investigate the use of artificial intelligence in modelling the impact of climate change on zoonotic diseases, for the project CliZod (Climate-sensitive Zoonotic Diseases). The team, led…

A new centre hosted by the University of Otago will boost the reach and impact of public health research, says its inaugural Director Professor Michael Baker. The Public Health Communication Centre (PHCC), launched in February, will provide high-quality analysis and commentary from public health researchers for the public, the media and decision-makers. Professor Baker says Aotearoa New…

The ESR COVID-19 Biobank (Kohikohinga Taonga Kowheori) is now open for researchers to apply for COVID-19 samples. Biobanks plays a significant role in hospitals and research centres around the world. They are an essential part of research and development of better diagnostic tools and new therapies as well as furthering our understanding of diseases. Samples…

Renowned international influenza researcher, Dr Richard Webby, warns we can’t be complacent about the development of new influenza viruses that may spread from the animal world to humans. A New Zealander, Dr Richard Webby is director of the St Jude Centre of Excellence for Influenza Research and Response (CEIRR) in Memphis, USA. Dr Webby is…

Food- and water-borne illness such as the 2016 campylobacteriosis outbreak in Havelock North cause a significant burden of illness in New Zealand. Organ-on-a-chip technology could help us understand why some bacteria causes disease and which are the strains to worry about. Dr Jan Powell is a science leader in ESR’s Risk Assessment and Social Systems…

Professor Michael Baker MNZM, Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington has received the Callaghan Medal for science-informed commentary on the Covid-19 pandemic and other major public health issues in New Zealand. Professor Baker has been a leading public health researcher and practitioner for 30 years. During that time, he has been one of…

The OHA Symposium Organising Committee have released the preliminary programme for our 8th symposium taking place in Wellington and online on 6-7 December 2022. Full details, including the preliminary programme and registration for the symposium, can be found here.