A vaccine for breast cancer is on the horizon, thanks to a new partnership between Victoria University of Wellington’s Ferrier Research Institute and the Breast Cancer Foundation New Zealand (BCFNZ). The five-year research partnership will see BCFNZ give the Ferrier Institute $500,000 to progress a significant breakthrough made by chemists at the Institute to create…

In the study of an online behavioral intervention for high blood pressure, people in web-based lifestyle counseling reduced their systolic blood pressure (the higher number in a blood-pressure reading) by 10 mmHg, compared with a 6 mmHg reduction for those taking part in a web-based control intervention. The research was presented at the American College…

Health Minister Jonathan Coleman and Science and Innovation Minister Paul Goldsmith says new internationally-recognised research that aims to improve rehabilitation of people after they have a stroke is an important step forward. “Around 9,000 people have a stroke each year in New Zealand. Early identification and treatment is crucial to reduce the likelihood of brain…

ELLENBROOK Christian College (ECC) students have taken part in research into gene mutation in melanoma patients. A group of 16 Year 12 students studied the mutations at the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research teaching laboratory to provide hands-on learning and experience on how they can identify them. Read more

Developing more international partnerships and investor opportunities for medical technology is the focus of Dr Diana Siew’s new role as strategic partnership specialist for the University of Auckland’s bioengineering institute. Her role with the Auckland Bioengineering Institute (ABI ) will contribute to growth of the MedTech Centre of Research Excellence (MedTech CoRE) and the Consortium…

The 2016 Prime Minister’s Science Prize has been awarded to the researchers of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit. Picking up New Zealand’s most valuable science prize is a “watershed moment” for the researchers of a 45-year-old University of Otago-led study which has changed and saved lives around the world. The 2016 Prime…

An Ontario-led international study with 1,206 men with localized prostate cancer shows that compressing radiation treatments into four weeks from eight delivers similar outcomes. The findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, provide a new standard of care worldwide, which the participating centers have already adopted. “We conducted a randomized clinical trial looking at…

Giving vitamin D supplements to mice during pregnancy prevents autism traits in their offspring, University of Queensland researchers have discovered. The discovery provides further evidence of the crucial role vitamin D plays in brain development, said lead researcher Professor Darryl Eyles, from UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute. Read more

Many public and private efforts focus on research in precision medicine, the process by which genomic information and other characteristics of a patient’s disease are used to predict which treatments will be most effective. Scientific initiatives alone, however, will not deliver such medicines without strong incentives to bring them to market. An article to be…

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Richard Blaikie The University of Otago has reconfigured the line-up of its flagship research centres after a rigorous evaluation process.Ten existing centres at the University have been reconfirmed and a further two added: One Health Aotearoa (OHA) and the Otago Global Health Institute. By this formal recognition and accompanying…