$6.5m awarded to support future research leaders

Eight early-career researchers at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland have been awarded Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowships. The fellowships total $6.5m to support and develop the next generation of the country’s research leaders.

The early-career researchers represent the wide-ranging breadth of the University’s scholarship and include researchers focusing on photonics, optical communications, prison reform and Māori health.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Research and Innovation Professor Frank Bloomfield congratulated the 2026 recipients. “The awards acknowledge early career researchers across the country. These awards are an important way to ensure that Aotearoa New Zealand not only develops but also retains academics to grow to be a future generation of leaders in their disciplines and at their universities.”

The fellowships are administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi and funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

• The University’s 2026 fellows are:
  Dr Joseph Ashby, Faculty of Science. A physicist, Dr Ashby specialises in optical communications and space science. His work supports the development of a practical quantum communications system to future-proof secure data transfer.
• Dr Suliana Mone, Auckland Law School. Dr Mone’s research encompasses international law, women’s rights and law in the Pacific region. She is developing a framework to align the law with the lived experiences of Pacific communities in Tonga and New Zealand. She is an academic convenor for the Ancestral Futures Signature Research Area.
• Dr Jarrah Dowrick, Auckland Bioengineering Institute. Dr Dowrick is a researcher in the Gastrointestinal Research Group. His research focuses on understanding bowel disorders stemming from the gut-brain axis and is working on a virtual platform to deliver personalised gut health care.
• Dr Zongda Li, Faculty of Science. Dr Li's research focuses on optical fibre communications, photonics and non-linear optics. His research aims to simplify next-generation optical systems, paving the way to a globally competitive local industry.
• Summer Wright, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. Wright is a researcher in Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, the faculty’s department of Māori health. Her work seeks to understand the conditions for research to have impact in public health, hauora Māori and environmental and climate health.
• Dr Emmy Rākete, Faculty of Arts and Education, is a social scientist researching decolonial theory, the political economy and social justice. She is investigating what can be done for the country’s rate of incarceration, one of the highest in the developed world.
• Dr Rosina Yuan, Faculty of Arts and Education, is a researcher and artist whose work bridges painting, spatial media and emerging technologies, including virtual reality. By re-imagining and re-designing VR systems she works to realise our cultural and creative potential.
• Dr Nicole Edwards, Faculty of Science, is a molecular biologist interested in emerging genomic technologies and their potential to uncover insights into neurobiology. She is developing an equity-centred pathway for diagnosis and treatment of rare genetic neurological diseases.

Throughout the country, fellowships have been awarded to 20 early career researchers. Each recipient receives $820,000 over four years and will be supported by the Royal Society to develop leadership skills.

The fellowships replace the previous Royal Society Te Apārangi-led Fellowships for Excellence scheme, the Rutherford Discovery, Rutherford Foundation and James Cook research fellowships.