This month, Prof Alistair Jan Gunn, Professor of Physiology and Paediatrics, published his 300th peer reviewed paper – definitely a red-letter day! Numbers are not everything, of course, but these papers underpin the development and clinical translation of therapeutic hypothermia into routine practice, which has significantly reduced disability due to injury from low oxygen at birth.
The studies were funded by four back-to-back programme grants from the Health Research Council (NZ) and project grants from the HRC, NIH, the March of Dimes, CureKids, Lottery Health and the AMRF. As is nearly always the case, productivity reflects strong internal and external teamwork. It was wonderful see last year that, exceptionally, the Fetal and Neonatal Physiology group were collectively awarded the 2017 Shorland medal from the New Zealand Association of Scientists to recognise their multidisciplinary contributions.