Congratulations to Chris Puli’uvea who successfully defended his PhD thesis. His thesis was entitled, “The Immuno-metabolic Effects of Unique Māori and Pacific Gene Variants”. He was supervised by Professor Peter Shepherd and Associate Professor Troy Merry.
His project endeavored to investigate genetic associations in Māori and Pacific people in Aotearoa New Zealand. Māori and Pacific people have a set of unique genetic variants that are virtually absent in other ethnic groups. This research set out to determine the role of these unique genetic variants on immune function and metabolic health in both human and animal models. This research aims to provide new knowledge about Māori and Pacific Health. His ultimate goal is to improve health outcomes for these populations in not only Aotearoa New Zealand but also abroad.