Te Pae Huinga Manu: A te ao Māori lens on research
27 January 2026
Four esteemed academics shared their knowledge and experience as researchers at the inaugural Te Pae Huinga Manu event, which celebrates Māori research excellence.
Indigenous research has been identified as a key strength at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland. An analysis over a five-year period to 2024 revealed that research undertaken by Māori academics has been cited by 141 policy bodies across 26 countries, demonstrating the real world impact.
Toi Te Mana: Rethinking Māori art through whakapapa, whenua and tikanga
Professor Deidre Brown (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Kahu) and Professor Ngarino Ellis, (Ngāpuhi, Ngati Porou) are co-authors, with Jonathan Mane-Wheoki of Toi Te Mana, a landmark account of Māori art from the time of the tūpuna (ancestors) to the present day.
Toi Te Mana has been recognised with multiple awards, including best non-fiction book at the Ockham New Zealand Book Awards, 2025 and the international Apollo Book of the Year, 2025.
Beyond the Scalpel: Transforming surgical culture and care
Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) has had a stellar rise as an early-career clinical researcher dedicated to advancing equity and cultural safety in surgery. Her work seeks to improve surgical outcomes for Māori and wāhine, while fostering a more inclusive and culturally safe surgical profession.
Jamie-Lee was awarded two prestigious awards in 2025: the L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship and the 2025 Dr John Corboy Medal from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons – the highest honour for a surgical trainee.
Wawata: Research and our stories of hope
Dr Sarah-Jane Paine (Tūhoe) is a Professor in Māori Health at Te Kupenga Hauora Māori and the Research Director for Growing Up in New Zealand - the largest contemporary longitudinal study of child and youth wellbeing in Aotearoa New Zealand.
For more than 20 years, Paine has been at the forefront of kaupapa Māori epidemiology, working alongside Māori colleagues and communities to use data to advance understanding of health as both a human and Indigenous right, and to develop solutions that support intergenerational healing.
The visible and the hidden: how art makes sense of place
Dr Ngahuia Harrison (Ngātiwai, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Pukenga) is a lens-based artist who works with photography and video. Her practice draws out the political and cultural complexities of the specific places she works in.
Her work on the economic development of the Whangārei harbour and its impact on mana whenua (local iwi) was awarded the Vice Chancellor’s award for best doctoral thesis in 2024.
Media contact
Te Rina Ruka-Triponel
te.rina.triponel@auckland.ac.nz