Trailblazing Niuean scholar graduates with PhD at 26 years old

Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland’s Dr Jessie Lagaluga Hutchings has graduated with a doctoral degree in Pharmacy at just 26-years-old.

Dr Hutchings (Avatele/Niue) crossed the stage at Auckland Town Hall on Tuesday, 9 December - marking a milestone that caps a chapter of global engagement. Her journey includes a three-month WHO fellowship in Finland, supporting a WHO roundtable at the European Public Health Conference in Helsinki in November, and the first exhibition of her artworks gifted to research participants featured in her doctoral study.

“It feels like so much has happened since I submitted my thesis, but it’s really great to have finally graduated,” she says.

She was awarded a scholarship by Manawataki Fatu Fatu for Achieving Cardiovascular Care for Equity StudieS and the Pasifika Medical Association (PMA) in partnership with Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, reflecting a shared commitment to growing Pacific research and improving health equity.

Hutchings’ research offers a groundbreaking blueprint for advancing Pacific heart health equity through the power of community pharmacies. It explores how community pharmacists can help achieve equitable heart health outcomes for Pacific peoples in Aotearoa.

“I’m a pharmacist, but heart health is personal - many in my family live with heart disease, which is a common story for Pacific families.”

Cardiovascular disease disproportionately affects Pacific peoples in Aotearoa. Hutchings’ thesis investigates how community pharmacists - often the most accessible point of care - can act as cultural brokers, building trust and removing barriers to health services.

“Community pharmacies tend to be places that people find the most accessible for health care. You don’t have to book an appointment, and you may have a relationship with your pharmacist. If these relationships are positive, the healthcare system becomes a lot more accessible.”

Participants echoed this:

“Our pharmacist knows our family. They explain things in a way we understand.”
“It feels like they care about us, not just the medicine.”

Her findings show that expanding the role of pharmacists beyond dispensing medication to proactive, culturally responsive prevention can reduce emergency department visits and hospital stays.

Journey of representation

Hutchings commitment to equity has been shaped by her experience as the sole Pacific student in her pharmacy cohort:

“It was the first time I was truly faced with the duality of being privileged and marginalised as a Pacific person in Aotearoa. Above all, it reaffirmed my commitment to creating spaces where other Pacific students, researchers and pharmacists can feel seen, heard and valued.”

Grounding her work in Pacific methodologies enabled Hutchings to reframe her doctoral research to focus solely on Pacific cardiovascular health equity:

“I am a researcher and a Niuean woman, both a product of Western academic structures and a bearer of Pacific values - not as contradictions but as strengths that enrich my perspective and work.”

Two worlds collide

Hutchings has been blessed with talents spanning across the sciences and visual art; after completing secondary schooling at Selwyn College, she was faced with a choice between the two.

She chose science - but never left art behind. Her series Hearts in Harmony translated research themes into Pacific visual language - lilies, seabirds, stars, shark-tooth patterns - and was gifted to participants and exhibited at the Kim Meredith Gallery in July this year.

“Art can bridge academic, cultural and linguistic gaps. It’s my way of honouring participants and making research accessible beyond journals.”

Acknowledgements

Hutchings says she has been fortunate to have had such strong support in completing her PhD and acknowledges her supervisors Dr Trudi Aspden, Dr Corina Grey and Dr Karen Brewer; Pacific community leaders and participants and funders including Manawataki Fatu Fatu, the Pacific Medical Association Knowledge Hub, the New Zealand Pharmacy Education and Research Foundation, the Sir John Logan Campbell Medical Trust and Pūtahi Manawa.

“My parents and siblings have been my anchor throughout this journey. Their belief in me kept me going through the hardest days.”

Looking ahead, Hutchings is committed to creating pathways for Pacific scholars and pharmacists and continuing her advocacy for health equity for Pacific communities.

“I feel an ever-growing responsibility to give back to my community and to help ensure that no one ever feels as alone as I once did.”