University of Otago

Study straight from the heart 🫀

Meet PhD researcher Mary-Ann Rongo Moller, whose mahi investigates whether warm lagoons could provide an accessible way to lower blood pressure for Cook Islands Māori 🏝

This study, guided by Indigenous knowledge, aims to help underserved communities treat hypertension, offering an alternative to good heart health that is both accessible and culturally meaningful 💕

“We're looking at specifically heart health equity. New Zealand Māori and Cook Islands Māori are really overrepresented in the statistics,” Mary-Ann says.

Ka pai tō mahi!

Read more about this incredible work here ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/cook-islands-maori-knowledge-guides-heart-health-study

❄️It's cold out there! ☃️
Our Dunedin campus remains open today, but we’re advising our staff and students to travel in only if and when it is safe to do so.
Take care all 💙

“Research is above all a collaborative endeavour. I’d say the same about leadership too” ✨

This is the mantra of Professor Tim Stokes, a firm believer in the power of collaborative leadership and winner of the Charles Bridges-Webb Medal in recognition of his outstanding leadership in primary care research 🔬🏅

The medal is presented to academics of international standing for making an outstanding contribution to leadership in primary care research in Australia or Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Working collectively is an important part of collaboration. I believe in the importance of ‘we’, not ‘I’. You’re there to serve the team and the common purpose. A good team is more than the sum of its parts,” Tim says.

Read more about Tim’s mahi here ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/putting-we-before-i-leader-in-primary-care-research-lauded

Otago tauira is chasing gold once again! 🏋️‍♂️💥

After claiming gold in 2024, first-year Bachelor of Arts student Fletcher Soligo is returning to this years Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships.

"It's so nerve-wracking going into a competition, but once I'm lifting it all just comes together." 🌟

The 2026 Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships will take place this September in Winnipeg, Canada. Karawhiua, Fletcher! 💙💛🥇

Read more about Fletcher's upcoming competition and his future plans ⬇️

A gold-medal mindset Powerlifter Fletcher Soligo is not only good at lifting weights – he’s also lifted a gold medal, national powerlifting records and a sporting award.

It started with an email ... 🥹💙💛

17 years ago, Karen Chelcun Schreiber got in touch with Otago's Professor Parry Guilford sparking what has since become a life-saving cancer collaboration spanning from Ōtepoti to the United States 🇺🇸

"You cannot understate the impact Karen and [her organisation] have had on the progress that has been made to improve outcomes for stomach cancer patients,” Parry says.

Read more about this remarkable partnership that's saving thousands of lives ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/unique-partnership-anchors-life-saving-research

Grab some fibre and dive into this Otago Magazine feature 📰🌾

Professor Sir Jim Mann and Associate Professor Andrew Reynolds discuss with Otago Magazine why dietary fibre should be officially recognised as an essential nutrient.

Discover more about Jim and Andrew's mahi - and why they're making the case for fibre ⬇️
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/otago-researchers-vouch-for-fibres-future

This research is a no-brainer 🧠 ✨

Meet Dr Jerin Mathew from Otago’s Department of Anatomy. Jerin has been awarded through the Catalyst: Leaders New Zealand–China Scientist Exchange to spend four weeks at Shanghai University of Sport in Shanghai 🏅

Jerin’s research at Otago focuses on chronic pain and neuromodulation – non-invasive technologies, such as brainwave training and brain–computer interface technologies, that target the brain to improve pain outcomes.

“This could mean new strategies to improve pain care and outcomes for people living with chronic pain in Aotearoa New Zealand, China and beyond,” Jerin says.

Read more about this important mahi ⬇️

Otago researcher leads global collaboration on chronic pain Funding for an international collaborative exchange will support a researcher in the Faculty of Biomedical Sciences in developing new approaches to understanding and treating debilitating chronic pain.

Alive with the sounds of music 🎶🎻

Otago is celebrating 100 years of Music with a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto. This celebration comes in the year that the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) celebrates its own 60-year milestone ✨

Three of Otago’s most experienced music lecturers will perform the Triple Concerto as soloists with the DSO, under the baton of conductor Umberto Clerci on Saturday, 1 August at the Dunedin Town Hall.

“The partnership between the symphony orchestra and Otago is a close and collaborative one … This musical celebration is a wonderful way to recognise our respective milestones, and we look forward to many more together,” Associate Professor Jennifer Cattermole says.

Read more about this event here ⬇️

DSO celebrates Otago’s 100 years of music with Beethoven’s Triple Concerto The Dunedin Symphony Orchestra (DSO) will present a thoughtful gift to mark 100 years of Music at Otago – a performance of Beethoven’s ​​​​‌‍​‍​‍‌‍​​‌‌‌‌‍​‍‌‍​‌‍‍‌‌​‌‍‍​‌‍‌Triple Concerto. This celebra...