New Appointments
We welcome Bruce Rattray, who was recently appointed to the permanent position of Group Services Manager for the Schools of Medical Sciences and Pharmacy.
Bruce comes to us with a wealth of experience having worked in central student administration from 1992 to 2003 including Manager of Student Financials from 1999 to 2003, then Department Manager for Sport and Exercise Science from 2003 to 2014 and from 2014 Business Operations Manager, Faculty of Science, Tamaki Campus. Bruce is well versed with the university from both his central service division and faculty experience. Bruce will take up his new role on Monday 12 June 2017.
Associate Professor Alan Davidson
We welcome Associate Professor Alan Davidson and Associate Professor Thomas Proft as the new Head of Department and Deputy Head, respectively. Alan and Thomas take over from Professor Peter Browett.
Alan received his PhD in Molecular Medicine from the University of Auckland (Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology). He undertook his postdoctoral studies at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 1999 and became an Assistant Professor at HMS in 2005 before returning to New Zealand in 2011.
Alan’s research interests include the embryology of kidney formation (using the zebrafish model) and the use of induced pluripotent stem cells and organoids to model human disease.
Associate Professor Thomas Proft
Thomas received his PhD in Molecular Microbiology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany and undertook his postdoctoral studies at the University of Auckland under Professor John Fraser in 1995.
Thomas’s research interests are virulence factors produced by the human pathogenic bacterium Streptococcus pyogenes, or Group A Streptococcus. More recently he has focused on the molecular mechanisms of streptococcal pili and other cell wall-anchored virulence proteins.
We are also pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Oudshoorn as the teaching laboratory technician in the Pharmacology labs. Matt started in May and is continuing to make a valuable contribution to the running of our labs.