2024 Research Honours Aotearoa event in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland

This was the second of three 2024 Research Honours Aotearoa events to be held around the country, with the first event held in Ōtepoti Dunedin on 14 November and the third event coming up on 28 November in Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington.

President of the Society, Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding DNZM MBChB DPhil FRACP FRSNZ said the Society has a vision for an Aotearoa New Zealand that is guided and inspired by science and research, and an ambitious long-term strategy to achieve that goal.  “The Research Honours Aotearoa form a very important part of the Society’s mandate to encourage, promote, and recognise excellence in science, technology, and the humanities. 

“This year’s winners include leaders who have advanced the frontiers of knowledge across a broad range of disciplines and worked tirelessly to share their expertise.

“We also celebrate bright new talents who are making innovative contributions to their fields, and who fill me with hope about the future of our country.

“Importantly we acknowledge all those who have supported our winners to achieve excellence — their whānau and friends as well as colleagues at their research institutions.”

SERVING COMMUNITIES AND PROTECTING ECOSYSTEMS

Associate Professor Daniel Hikuroa, from Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, received the Te Puāwaitanga Research Excellence Award. This award, established in partnership with Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga, recognises eminent and distinctive contributions to Te Ao Māori, and to Māori and Indigenous knowledge.

Dan is internationally recognised as an expert in transdisciplinary research that weaves Indigenous knowledge with science and the humanities, investigating how ancestral ideas including mauri, ora, and whakapapa can complement cutting-edge science.

In addition to his academic work, Dan has served as an independent scientific advisor to many hapū, iwi, and Māori-led projects. He has contributed to environmental sustainability in freshwater management, marine ecosystems, and rivers, and to management of natural hazards and disasters.

At the national level Dan is empowering kaitiakitanga by ensuring that indigenous knowledge is incorporated into environmental policy, legislation, and practice.

Deeply committed to solving complex ecological issues, he has contributed to public understanding through lecturing and speaking regularly at events, at schools, and in the media.

 Read more about the Te Puāwaitanga Research Excellence Award winner.

SOLVING PROBLEMS THAT HAVE BAFFLED GENERATIONS OF MATHEMATICIANS

Distinguished Professor Gaven Martin FRSNZ, of Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa Massey University, has been awarded the Jones Medal for his groundbreaking work in a broad range of fields including geometry, analysis, topology, and group theory.

Gaven is widely regarded as the best mathematician in Aotearoa New Zealand. He has solved famous problems which have baffled generations of mathematicians, including the Liouville Problem (1850), Painleve Problem, Siegel Problem (1945), Hurwitz Problem, Hilbert-Smith Conjecture, and the Pucci Conjecture (1966).

His leadership has raised the profile of New Zealand mathematics at the international level, and

Gaven has also made significant contributions to future generations of mathematicians in this country by advising on the maths curriculum and the teaching of mathematics in schools.

Read more about the Jones Medal winner.

ADAPTING CROPS TO A CHANGING CLIMATE

Professor Andrew Allan FRSNZ, of Plant & Food Research and Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, has been awarded the Hutton Medal for outstanding research in plant genomics and breeding.

Andrew leads a laboratory studying plant genomics and metabolism, and how plants respond to their environments.

Unconventionally for fundamental research, he works with plants that are economically important crops, such as apples and kiwifruits, instead of model plants.

He has characterised genes which are now used as markers to improve the efficiency of breeding in the horticultural industry. His development of continuously flowering plants promises to accelerate breeding of perennial plants.

Andrew has also contributed to public understanding and informed debate on the use of genetic technologies.

Read more on the Hutton Medal winner.

TUNING INTO SPACE RESEARCH THROUGH RADIO ASTRONOMY

Professor Sergei Gulyaev received the Thomson Medal—recognising outstanding contributions to the organisation, support and application of science and technology—for his leadership and contributions to research and teaching in radio astronomy, earth science, and space science.

Twenty years ago Sergei founded the Institute of Radio Astronomy and Space Research at Auckland University of Technology and the Warkworth Radio Astronomy Observatory, equipped with 12- and 30-metre radio telescopes.

He is renowned for establishing productive research collaborations with national and international Space Agencies and for sourcing significant funding and in-kind support.

Radio astronomy observations generated from this research have provided critical data for global mapping, positioning, and navigation in space, and for advancing our understanding and exploration of the universe.

Sergei has also enriched the future of the aerospace sector in Aotearoa New Zealand through science education, including by his contributions to establishment of Astronomy and Space Science as a university subject.

 Read more about the Thomson Medal winner. 

FINDING TREATMENTS FOR DEVASTATING BRAIN DISEASES

Professor Michael Dragunow FRSNZ, of Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, has been awarded the Hercus Medal by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for his world-leading research on the causes and treatments of disorders of the brain.

Based at the Centre for Brain Research, Mike is a neuropharmacologist who has made major contributions to our understanding of brain pharmacology and has developed innovative drugs.

His research has focused on identifying the causes of, and treatments for, brain disorders such as epilepsy, Alzheimer's, motor neurone disease, Huntington's and Parkinson's. Several of his breakthroughs come from studies of the molecular mechanisms of degeneration and regeneration in the brain.

He established a world-first biobank that allows potential medications for brain disorders to be tested directly in human brain cells.

Mike has also been involved in many commercial ventures for translating research into approved drug treatments.

Read more on the Hercus Medal winner.

UNDERSTANDING RELIGIOUS FUNDAMENTALISM IN JAPAN

Professor Mark Mullins, of Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland, has been awarded the Pou Aronui Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for a career of scholarship on religion in modern Japanese society, and decades of service that have positioned Aotearoa New Zealand at the forefront of global thinking on the sociology of religion.

Mark’s recently published book ‘Yasukuni Fundamentalism: Japanese Religions and the Politics of Restoration’ has been internationally acclaimed for expanding scholarly understanding of Japanese religious nationalism.

His body of work, built up over decades, has illuminated the issues surrounding the role of Shinto in public life, which remains among the most contentious topics in Japanese society today.

 Read more on the Pou Aronui Award winner.

CREATING AUDIO PORTRAITS OF WĀHINE MĀORI

Dr Maree Sheehan (Ngāti Maniapoto-Waikato, Ngāti Tuwharetoa, Ngāti Tahu-Ngāti Whāoa, Clan Sheehan, Clan Marshall), of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, has been awarded the Te Kōpūnui Māori Research Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for her scholarship, involving audio portraiture and sonic practices that honour and elevate the voices and identities of wāhine Māori (Māori women).

Maree has challenged the idea of traditional portraiture through the creation of audio portraits that honour and elevate the voices of wāhine Māori.

She has used immersive sound technology to record, synthesise, and spatially position their subjects, and to create immersive soundscapes that interpret each of their perspectives, experiences, and natures.

These audio portraits present insights into the identities of wāhine Māori, encompassing the many dimensions of their lives.

This work is highly creative and innovative, while being firmly grounded within a Māori knowledge framework.

Read more about the Te Kōpūnui Māori Research Award winner.

DIAGNOSING ELUSIVE GUT PROBLEMS WITH MED-TECH

Dr Timothy Angeli-Gordon, of Te Wānanga o Aotearoa, has been awarded the Cooper Award by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for investigating the electrical and cellular mechanisms causing chronic gastrointestinal disease and using bioengineering techniques to diagnose and treat patients with gut problems.

Gastrointestinal disorders can cause major clinical, economic, and societal burdens. Patients who have debilitating symptoms often have limited options for diagnosis and treatment.

Tim has studied the bioelectrical signals that coordinate the contraction of the muscles in the gut, and how problems with bioelectrical activity can cause disorders of the stomach.

His team has developed a new medical device to diagnose stomach complaints without invasive surgery.

Read more about the Cooper Award winner.

USING DATA IN A NEW WAY TO UNDERSTAND MĀORI WELL-BEING

Associate Professor Lara Greaves (Ngapuhi, Pakeha, Tarara) has been awarded the Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences by the Royal Society Te Apārangi for interrogating large datasets to explore the complex relationships between Māori identity, social well-being and health.

Lara is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Te Herenga Waka Victoria University of Wellington, as well as a Senior Research Fellow of Statistics at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland and the Director of Demos and Data Limited.

Lara’s work, which spans political science and social psychology, has been reshaping understanding of the complex relationships between Māori identity, social well-being, and health.

Using both quantitative and qualitative methods, Lara has interrogated large datasets to investigate the experiences of Māori in our society. Her work has been inspired by the experiences of whānau who identify as Māori but do not have an iwi affiliation or wider knowledge of their whakapapa.

Read more on the Early Career Research Excellence Award for Social Sciences winner.

In addition, the Health Research Council of New Zealand awarded the Beaven Medal for excellence in translational health research to Professor Cynthia Farquhar FRSNZ and her team at Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland.

This team’s clinical trials of gynaecology and fertility treatments have changed how women and couples with unexplained infertility are treated world-wide and led to less invasive treatments and better health outcomes for women and their families.

Their research has enabled some women with ectopic pregnancies to avoid surgery and supported non-surgical options for women with heavy periods, dramatically reducing hysterectomies in New Zealand.

Their studies have also led to many clinics dropping add-ons to in-vitro fertilisation such as endometrial scratching, which was found to have no benefit, and adopting intrauterine insemination as a cheaper and less invasive adjunct or possible alternative to IVF.