Fulbright award takes doctoral researcher to Stanford

A doctoral researcher from Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
is heading to one of the world's leading universities after being awarded a Fulbright New Zealand Science and Innovation Graduate Award.

Nikki Singh leaves for California in late September for a six-month research affiliation at Stanford School of Public Health while completing her PhD in Population Health.

At Stanford, Singh will advance research exploring how autoimmune disease affects identity, relationships and daily life for young adults in Aotearoa. The project is believed to be among the first in the world to combine autoimmune disease research with body mapping, an innovative arts-based method that enables people to visually represent their experiences of living with illness.

The research emerged from Singh's own experience after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.

"When I was in my early 20s, I was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease myself and it has been a journey learning how to accept a lifelong condition as part of who I am now," she says.

"Because of my own experience, I decided to use my PhD as an opportunity to do research on a topic that is close to my heart and see how others have navigated this."

Singh interviewed 25 young adults living with autoimmune diseases across Aotearoa, exploring how chronic illness influences identity, belonging and everyday life. Participants used body mapping to creatively document and communicate experiences that could be difficult to capture through traditional research methods alone.

Her findings suggest many young adults are grappling with questions about disability, self-perception and belonging that are often overlooked in traditional healthcare approaches.

"If we continue to treat people only based on their illness, and we forget the lived experience and identity side of things, we risk creating healthcare systems that only focus on the illness and forget about the person," she says.

The Fulbright award recognises the potential impact of Singh's work to improve understanding of chronic illness and support more person-centred healthcare.

Singh also represented the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences in this year's University of Auckland Three Minute Thesis (3MT) finals, highlighting the challenges facing young people with autoimmune conditions.

After submitting her PhD, Singh hopes to continue working in public health research, with a focus on improving outcomes for marginalised communities.

"It would be incredible to be able to do a post-doc in research that continues to explore the lived experiences of those living with chronic, long-term conditions," she says.

Hearing participants' stories has been one of the most rewarding aspects of the project.

"I am so grateful that my research participants have trusted me with their stories," she says.

"They have not let their illness become their only story. They are far more than a diagnosis, with aspirations, hopes and dreams of their own."