Te Rau Hiringa Award for Pacific research leadership

Just two years since the launch of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa – Centre for Pacific and Global Health, its leadership is already winning awards.

Research Operations Manager Nalei Taufa (Kolonga, ‘Ohonua, Tufuenga, and Pangai – Tonga, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna) received a Te Rau Hiringa Award, acknowledging the value professional staff bring to research at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

For Taufa, who received the award on 23 October, the honour is deeply personal as she reflects on her professional and academic career.

“I am humbled to have received this award, and it’s a reflection of the mentorship and leadership from my directors: Professor Sir Colin Tukuitonga, Professor Judith McCool, Dr Kara Okesene-Gafa, and Dr Roannie Ng Shiu.

It’s also about my team, who serve with heart and courage, my family, and the communities we serve. That gives meaning to this work and allows me to serve in my dream job for this season.”

She paid tribute to her parents for their support and guidance.

“I also want to acknowledge the epic sacrifice of my parents, whose faith and hard work made every opportunity possible. Their values are the foundation of everything I do, and they taught me how to serve by being an example of how we serve.”

Taufa’s leadership bridges institutional systems with Pacific communities, enabling culturally anchored, high-impact research across Aotearoa and the Pacific.

She has also been instrumental in building enduring partnerships between the University and Pacific nations. In her role, she has managed more than $12 million in research funding while leading projects on non-communicable diseases, pandemic preparedness, child and maternal health, and climate change. There have also been collaborations with the World Health Organization and partner countries across the Pacific region.

Dual role as research leader and scholar

Alongside her operational leadership, Taufa is completing a PhD exploring Tongan understandings of healing through grief. Her work highlights concepts such as tauhi vā—the sacred relational space that connects people across life and death. She challenges Western models like the “five stages of grief,” positing that for Pacific peoples, mourning is non-linear, communal, and deeply spiritual.

“Grief flows in circles that weave across generations,” she explains. “It reshapes families and marks your life forever.”

She hopes her research will inform culturally safe approaches in health systems, churches, and workplaces, including policies like bereavement leave.

“I want to provide a model grounded in our Tongan ways of doing, being, loving and grieving,” she says.

Her dual role—as a research leader and scholar—reflects a commitment to Pacific-led solutions that honour culture while advancing global health. She says the Te Rau Hiringa Award is a testament to that vision.

Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa Co-Director Professor Sir Colin Tukuitonga says Taufa plays a fundamental role, and her leadership and significant contributions have been key to the research centre’s growth and progress.

“Nalei has been invaluable in supporting the vision of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa and bringing the centre to life. We’re fortunate to have an emerging academic who has insights into how the centre operates and the work it undertakes.”

At the time of the centre’s launch two years ago, Nalei recalls her commitment to strengthening community engagement and building regional coordination and partnerships. She says the Te Rau Hiringa Award recognises that commitment, and she’s proud of the advances made by Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa.