Message from the Head of School
Kia ora koutou
Welcome to our School of Medical Sciences (SMS) Newsletter which has become the place where we acknowledge and record the successes of our staff and students. These various successes whether they are big or small represent the different parts of the academic and career journeys of the staff and students who together form one of the biggest and most successful Schools at Waipapa Taumata Rau: The University of Auckland.
The range of academic disciplines across the School and the excellence of the research we conduct is driven by the research led teaching performed by the academic Departments that make up SMS. Furthermore, this concentration of research activity has allowed the School to host the establishment of a number of research centers that allow us to collaborate more widely with colleagues from outside the School. I want to publicly thank Paul Donaldson for his 12 years at the helm of our school, which has allowed us to be in this position.
I invite you to read about our current and archived successes to gain some insight into the talented individuals that make up SMS and how their individual achievements are contributing to the overall success of the School.
I recognise that this is a transition period with changes in several key leadership positions within the School that may be unsettling for many of us as we bed into new roles and ask for your support to all of those new leaders and encourage you to consider how you could improve service and leadership roles.
Nga mihi
Malcolm
Grant success
Wellcome Trust Grant awarded to Associate Professor Nikki Moreland, Dr Reuben McGregor and Dr Natalie Lorenz.
Emerging researcher grant success
The Dept of Pharmacology has been awarded an Emerging Researcher Grant in the 2025 round.
Dr Amy McCaughey-Chapman (Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology – UoA) has been awarded $400,000 in Project Grant funding for her research on Development of a human oligodendrocyte platform for multiple Sclerosis.
Grant success
The Dept of Pharmacology has been awarded three Project Grants and an Emerging Researcher Grant in the 2025 round.
Principal Investigator (PI) Dr Raewyn Poulsen, from the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, has been awarded $1,199,983 in Project Grant funding for her research on How the mechanisms driving osteoarthritis differ in males versus females.
Grant success
The Dept of Pharmacology has been awarded three Project Grants and an Emerging Researcher Grant in the 2025 round.
Principal Investigator (PI) Dr Justin Rustenhoven, from the Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, has been awarded $1,199,744 in Project Grant funding for his research on Targeting meningeal fibrosis to improve outcomes in traumatic brain injuries.
Grant success
The Dept of Pharmacology has been awarded three Project Grants and an Emerging Researcher Grant in the 2025 round.
Prof. Bronwen Connor, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, has been awarded $1.2 million in Project Grant funding for her research on Three-Dimensional Cell Replacement Therapy to Treat Huntington’s Disease.
Well Done
Well done to Heidi Bowmast for her incredible contribution in Vanuatu, where she helped implement life-saving breast health services and build local capacity for the future.
PhD success
Please join us in congratulating Abigail Bokor, Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology, for successfully defending her PhD thesis.
Staff success
Congratulations to Dr Fiona Radcliff and the team (from Population Health) for being awarded an AMRF project grant.
New PhD student
We welcome new PhD student, Huan Ding, working with Associate Professor Adam Patterson, Associate Professor Jeff Smaill, Dr Amir Ashoorzadeh and Dr Victoria Jackson-Patel.