A key initiative aimed at boosting Aotearoa New Zealand’s COVID‑19 response and preparing for future disease outbreaks has taken a significant step forward with the appointment of co‑directors to the newly formed Infectious Disease Research Platform (IDRP). The Platform, co‑hosted by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) and the University of Otago, is…

University of Otago-led research has uncovered the strongest evidence yet that household overcrowding is a major risk factor for acute rheumatic fever and streptococcal infections of the skin. Their research is published in two companion articles in the international medical journal The Lancet Regional Health – Western Pacific. Lead researcher Professor Michael Baker of the…

Our latest newsletter announces our new Co-director and Management Group members, includes the save the date information for our 8th annual symposium later this year and congratulates the recipient of the Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize 2022. View the OHA Autumn 2022 newsletter.

We are delighted to announce that Professor Iain Lamont has been appointed as the new One Health Aotearoa Co-director, joining Professor Nigel French at the helm of OHA. Iain is based in the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Otago and has been a member of OHA since it was started in 2013. He…

Dr Jemma Geoghegan wants to “demolish the stereotype of what a scientist looks like”. Dr Geoghegan has today become just the second woman to win the Te Puiaki Kaipūtaiao Maea Prime Minister’s MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize. The University of Otago researcher is one of the scientists behind New Zealand’s COVID-19 genome sequencing programme and plans…

One Health Aotearoa investigators have been highly sought after as opinion leaders on the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to providing technical advice to various authorities, our investigators have featured prominently in the media in the effort to provide accurate and timely expert opinion on this developing situation and to keep New Zealand informed. A number…

In an era that has been called ‘Pandemicene’, it is important to map regions where biodiversity and people’s health are at risk. That is what School of Veterinary Science Professor David Hayman alongside his team at Massey University and collaborators based in institutions overseas have been researching since 2020. The multidisciplinary team across New Zealand,…

Dr Liping Pang – a science leader in ESR’s Groundwater team – is one of just 17 HRC Explorer Grant recipients nationwide. An expert in subsurface microbial transport, Dr Pang has been awarded $150,000 over two years to carry out research that will reduce the risk of water-borne Legionellosis and inform better water systems design.…

The game changing WellKiwis Infant study led by ESR experts needs to recruit more Wellington whānau that could hold the key to developing longer lasting vaccines – especially from the region’s Māori, Pacific, and Asian communities. Having moved to Wellington, Bing and Quinn Ho were quick to join WellKiwis after hearing about the study from…

Aotearoa New Zealand has entered new COVID territory, characterised by high vaccination rates but also the rapid spread of the Omicron variant and rising numbers of hospitalisations. As we approach the peak of this wave, some have suggested it would be better to drop remaining public health measures, let the infection rip through our population…