The University of Otago this week renewed an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Te Rūnanga o Toa Rangatira. The MoU was signed at a ceremony at the University of Otago Wellington by Te Taku Parai, chair of Te Rūnanga, Sir Matiu Rei, Te Rūnanga Executive Director, and John Ward, Chancellor of the University. “The…

Dr Paul Young will be presented with Medicines New Zealand’s 2016 Value of Medicines Award for leading a world-class study into the effects paracetamol has on patients in intensive care units (ICU) this evening. “We are impressed with the range and high standard of entries for this year’s Award. The Value of Medicines Award supports…

For more than a century, standard care for heart attacks – one of the biggest causes of death in Australia – was the use of supplementary oxygen. That was until recently, when Australian research demonstrated that in some cases, supplemental oxygen was actually causing harm – increasing heart injury, and dangerous cardiac rhythms. Now, thanks…

As biomedical research practices become more sophisticated, protecting the cultural and ethical interests of those who donate tissue or take part in genomic research has become more important than ever before. The University of Waikato’s Associate Professor Maui Hudson led a Health Research Council-funded national research project to develop culturally informed guidelines for ethical research…

Otago researchers probe HPV’s manipulation of immune system University of Otago researchers have gained fresh insights into how one of the main viruses that cause cervical cancer evades its hosts’ immune systems. Their findings, which are published in the international journal Scientific Reports, suggest that a protein known as E7, produced by a high-risk type…

Sir Bob Parker and Chinese investors are behind a new health research facility in Christchurch. Ground was broken on Thursday for the construction of the Health Research Education Facility (HREF). The $70 million building will be the first private sector building to be constructed in Christchurch’s health precinct, which occupies a block bordered by Oxford Tce, Montreal St,…

Waikato University research fellow Dr Byron Seiuli has been recognised for his significant contribution to supporting Pacific men facing trauma and mental health challenges. The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) presented Dr Seiuli, a counsellor of Samoan heritage, with an award as an emerging researcher at a ceremony at Waikato University last night.…

The 2016 Nobel Prize for Chemistry has been awarded to a trio of scientists for their pioneering work in developing molecular machines. These gadgets measure just a thousandth of a human hair in width, and they’re poised to revolutionise everything from manufacturing and materials to medicine and the functioning of the human body. The winners…

What will medicine and healthcare be like in the future? What role will technology play? How much say will patients have in their care? On computers in medicine: Michael Gillam: Just like cardiology or obstetrics or any of these other specialties, there’s now a speciality in medical informatics, as well – the application of computers…