Research awards support wide array of projects to improve healthcare

Nine researchers from the University have received 2026 Health Delivery Research Career Development awards. The Health Research Council initiative enables researchers to directly work alongside health professionals on projects to improve New Zealand healthcare.

The research projects canvass a broad range of ways to improve the health of New Zealanders. The award for Dr Rachael Sumner and colleagues enables the team to work on a clinical trial using a drug treatment to manage the severity and frequency of fits for women with epilepsy during their menstrual cycle.

Dr Pushkar Silwal will work alongside clients of the National Hauora Coalition to design more culturally responsive pathways to access health services for eye care.

Dr Veronica Tone-Graham explores the cultural relevance, accessibility, and therapeutic impact of family therapy for Pacific peoples, using Pacific research methodologies and relational frameworks. The research will guide development of better health care pathways for mental health services.

Clinical Research Training Fellowship

• Dr Ashleigh Brown, Liggins Institute, Thyroid dysfunction in infancy: detection, aetiology and clinical safety, 24 months, $173,330
  Thyroid hormones are crucial for growth and brain development, and it can be difficult to interpret results during the early neonatal period. The current projects are looking for associations between positive newborn screening for congenital hypothyroidism and iodine deficiency in preterm infants.
• Alexandra Sorhage, Faculty of Medical and Health Science, Evaluating risks and economic costs of respiratory illness in cerebral palsy, 36 months, $ 260,000
  Children with Cerebral Palsy (CP) in NZ can have repeated hospitalisations with respiratory infections and chronic lung disease. Respiratory illness is the leading cause of death among children and young adults with CP. The project will review literature and New Zealand data to produce a local checklist to help clinicians identify children at high risk.

Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship

• Dr Rachael Sumner, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Targeting glutamatergic excitation to treat menstrual cycle-linked seizures, 48 months, $598,788
  For around 40 percent of women with epilepsy, the menstrual cycle increases their seizure frequency two-fold or more. A clinical trial of the drug memantine will test whether this might be a treatment of females with epilepsy. Additionally, researchers have developed new recommendations for tracking catamenial seizures and a simple standardisable way to diagnose it. The aim is to develop a mobile phone application that integrates this algorithm.

Health Delivery Career Development Award

• Dr Matthew Moore, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, FILTER-F: Surgical site infection and intravenous medication filtration, 15 months, $162,298
  Surgical site infection (SSI) is a serious complication after cardiac surgery, leading to longer hospital stays, worse recovery and higher costs. This research will lay the groundwork to explore whether a low-cost intravenous filter can reduce that risk. This project will also produce standalone outputs, including the first national data on cardiac infection burden and a report focused on Māori patients, and support safer care, better use of data, and more sustainable research infrastructure in Aotearoa New Zealand.
• Dr Pushkar Silwal, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Primary care model to improve eye health outcomes for whānau with diabetes, 24 months, $141,408 
  This research will develop and evaluate a model of diabetes eye-care services from a primary care perspective. In collaboration with the team at the National Hauora Coalition (NHC), the placement host organisation, Dr Silwal will co-design with clients new service pathways that are culturally responsive and equity-focused

Māori Health Clinical Research Training Fellowship

• Dr Jaclyn Aramoana, Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, Abolition, race and health in Aotearoa me Te Waipounamu, 36 months, $260,000
  This doctoral research will explore how, as part of the health response to racism and aspirations for wellness, abolition of police and prisons would attend to their effects on Māori health, with a focus on the histories and experiences of Waikato iwi. Using a range of methods, including archival and literature review, and wānanga, the research will consider the importance of incorporating abolitionist, kaupapa Māori approaches into interventions that aim to address systems of racism and their health effects.

Pacific Health Research Knowledge Translation Grant

• Dr Analosa Veukiso-Ulugia, Arts and Education, Nesian narratives: Bridging knowledge through digital and community design, eight months, $5,000
  This project will design and develop the Nesian Narratives Toolkit – a culturally grounded educational resource aimed at strengthening Pacific child wellbeing. Co-designed with Pacific ECE educators and a community researcher, the toolkit includes 13 themed “voyages”, introducing developmentally appropriate concepts like body safety and emotional resilience. Offered in multiple formats, the toolkit represents a transformative shift from academic reporting to an actionable, community-facing resource.

Pacific Health Research Postdoctoral Fellowship

• Dr Veronica Tone-Graham, Faculty of Science, Strengthening Vā: Exploring the efficacy of family therapy for Pacific peoples, 36 months, $263,318
  This research explores the cultural relevance, accessibility, and therapeutic impact of family therapy for Pacific peoples, using Pacific research methodologies and relational frameworks. Through qualitative interviews and talanoa with Pacific families, clinicians, and community stakeholders, the project will develop a framework for family therapy. Outcomes will inform clinical practice and policy, contributing to a more responsive, equitable mental health service.

Pacific Health Research Summer Studentship

• Mrs Ania Langi, The Pasifika Health Psychology Consultation Guideline
  three months, $7,500
  This research is a literature review to understand what is currently known and available about Pasifika consultation in health and psychology research and the consultation practices which have been employed involving and impacting on Pasifika communities and where gaps may exist. Findings from this research will set the foundation for the development of the Pasifika Health Psychology Consultation Guideline.