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Speakers 2023
Associate Professor Phillip Wilcox
Iwi affiliations: Ngāti Rakaipaaka
He is an Associate Professor in the University of Otago’s Department of Mathematics and Statistics, with experience in applied genomics and statistical genetics. For almost 20 years he has worked in the interface of genetic sciences and Te Ao Māori, and co-leads two genomics-based projects focussing on Māori health. Dr Wilcox has also worked on genetics of plant species (particularly forest trees) and human diseases. Along with Maui Hudson and Katharina Ruckstahl, he initiated SING-Aotearoa, and is currently a member of the Health Research Council of New Zealand’s Ethics Committee which oversees institutional and regional ethics committees.
Associate Professor Maui Hudson
Iwi affiliations: Te Whakatohea, Nga Ruahine, Te Mahurehure.
Associate Professor Maui Hudson is Director of Te Mata Punenga o Te Kotahi | Te Kotahi Research Institute at the University of Waikato. His research is interdisciplinary in nature focusing on the application of mātauranga Māori (indigenous knowledge) to decision-making across a range of contexts from new technologies to health, the environment to innovation. Maui was part of the team that developed Guidelines for Genomic Research with Maori, and is now working on Guidelines for Genomic Research with Taonga Species. Along with Phil Wilcox and Katharina Ruckstahl, he initiated SING-Aotearoa.
Associate Professor Sandy Morrison
Iwi affiliations: Ngāti Whakaue, Ngāti Maniapoto; Ngāti Rārua ki te Tau Ihu, Ngāti Tama ki te Waipounamu.
Her current position as the Acting Dean for the University of Waikato’s Faculty of Māori and Indigenous Studies allows her to continue to challenge the thinkers of tomorrow and concentrate on her research interests around Treaties, Adult Education and Indigenous Development. Sandy has an extensive career and holds many titles nationally and globally.
Dr Mitchell Head
Ngāti Mahuta, Ngāti Naho, Tainui
Dr Head is a neuroscientist working at the interface of Mātauranga Māori and biomedical sciences, interested in optimum states of consciousness, and the health potential of treatments derived from native taonga species. Dr Head's work has utilised PCR gene expression analysis, optogenetic and chemogenetic techniques to explore the underlying molecular changes associated with addiction, obesity, learning and memory.
Professor Debashish Munshi
Professor Debashish Munshi (PhD; MRSNZ) is primarily a communication scholar but his research agenda spans disciplinary boundaries as he seeks answers to difficult societal questions. Professor Munshi has a special interest in public engagement on complex and contentious issues.
He has Authored and edited six books and over 150 articles, chapters and research papers, Professor Munshi's research straddles the intersections of communication, diversity, sustainability, social change, and citizenship. Together with Prof Priya Kurian of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, he has co-led major public engagement projects. Debashish's work with national and international colleagues has been instrumental in helping bring postcolonial perspectives to the discipline of Communication.
Dawn Lewis
Woolwonga (Aboriginal Australian)
Dawn is a Woolwonga woman undertaking her PhD Candidate in Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD) in association with the National Centre for Indigenous Genomics the ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage (CABAH) and Telethon Kids Institute. She is primarily supervised by A/Prof Bastien Llamas and co-supervised by Prof Alex Brown and Mrs Azure Hermes. Her research in Indigenous Genomics is multi-disciplinary, with a focus on community leadership.
Dawn previously completed an MSc (Archaeological Science) at the University of Oxford and a BA (Archaeology) / BSc (Genetics) with Honours and the University Medal at the University of New England. She is a research assistant and member of the organising committee for the Summer Internship for Indigenous Peoples in Genomics (SING) Australia.
Leke (Leslie) Hutchins
Kānaka ‘Ōiwi
PhD Candidate in Environmental Science, Policy and Management Department at UC Berkley.
Leke’s socio-ecological graduate work focuses on Indigenous food and data sovereignty and biodiversity conservation in Hawaiʻi. Specifically, socially, he talks to farmers to understand their motivations for farming, the barriers they face, and the type of impact they have on their respective communities. Ecologically, he utilizes tools from community ecology and genomics to understand how whole communities of insects respond to different levels of crop diversification. Ultimately, Leke hopes to create pathways for more Kānaka ʻŌiwi farmers to access land, expand the extent of Indigenous agroecosystems, and bolster functionally and culturally important insect biodiversity.
Assistant Professor Krystal Tsosie
Diné/Navajo Nation,
Dr Tsosie is an Indigenous geneticist-bioethicist and Assistant Professor in the School of Life Sciences at Arizona State University (ASU), and is ASU’s first Indigenous human geneticist. As an advocate for Indigenous genomic data sovereignty, she co-founded the first US Indigenous-led biobank, a 501c3 nonprofit research institution called the Native BioData Consortium. Her research can be encapsulated in two main foci: Indigenous population genetics and bioethics. In particular, she focuses on bioethical engagement of Indigenous communities in genomics and data science to build trust. As a whole, her interest is in integrating genomic and data approaches to assess Indigenous variation contributing to health inequities.
Dr Patrick Gladding
Dr Patrick Gladding is a specialist in both general cardiology and internal medicine. He is currently employed as a cardiologist at North Shore Hospital and has expertise in echocardiography, personalized and genomic medicine, nanomedicine, informatics and metabolomics. He has experience in clinical pharmacology, clinical trial design, and being a co-investigator for multicenter pharmaceutical trials. Patrick trained in cardiology at the Greenlane Cardiovascular Service and completed a fellowship in advanced cardiac imaging at the Cleveland Clinic.
Dr Manpreet Dhami
Tangata tiriti
Senior Researcher, Manaaki Whenua / Landcare Research
Biocontrol & Molecular Ecology
Dr Dhami's role involves leading and participating in a wide range of research projects focusing on species interactions – those between microbes and plant or animal hosts, as well as those between microbes in the soil. She aims to understand how these interactions are changing with the ongoing changes in our environment. Dr Dhami’s interests revolve around the broad field of evolution and organismal interactions, incorporating varied disciplines such as molecular biology, phylogenetics, ecology and biotechnology. Much of her doctoral thesis research has concentrated on the ecology and co-evolution of insect host-symbiont system in the honeydew beech forest in New Zealand. In the past she has worked on species diversity and flight and mating behaviour of insects.
Manu Caddie
Ngāti Pūkenga, Ngāti Hauā, Tongan, Pākehā
Biotech Entrepreneur
Manu grew up in Tauranga, studied in Wellington and now lives near Ruatoria on whenua belonging to his wife Natasha’s whānau next to her marae.
Manu is co-founder of a number of biotechnology companies and works closely with researchers in Aotearoa, Australia, Europe and the Middle East.
Rua Bioscience is the first company to receive Medicinal Cannabis licenses and became the first company listed on the NZ Stock Exchange founded by Māori.
Manu will share some of his experience developing clinically-proven therapeutics from indigenous organisms, discuss issues around intellectual property and kaitiakitanga, and the role genomics is playing in some of the ventures he is involved with.
Katie Lee Riddle
Rongowhakaata
KatieLee is an ENRICH Scholar, Ngā Pae o te Māramatanga and SING Alumni, and admitted Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand. She completed a Bachelor of Laws with Honours and a second major in Theatre Studies at the University of Waikato in 2020, and has since specialised in Maori Intellectual Property, Digital Sequence Information, and Indigenous Data Sovereignty at Te Kotahi Research Institute. This has led to her involvement within the United Nations COP15 DSI
Professor Priya Kurian
Priya Kurian is a Professor of Political Science and Public Policy. She teaches in the areas of environmental politics and policy, climate politics, gender, justice and the environment. Her research is interdisciplinary and spans the areas of environmental politics, gender politics, media and communication, and critical public policy. Underpinned by a concern for social and environmental justice, equity and inclusion, much of Priya’s work focuses on the significance of gender, culture, race and class to understandings of environmental, social, cultural and political sustainability. Priya’s recent work has been in the areas of gender politics, public engagement, citizenship and the governance of new and emerging technologies. She has co-led a number of research projects on public engagement on new technologies such as nanotechnologies and genetic technologies, public participation in marine ecosystem restoration, climate justice, and climate change adaptation.
Conor Watene-O’Sullivan
Te Rarawa, Ngapuhi, Te Arawa, Ngāti Maru
With a strong background in Health Sciences, Conor has been leading the delivery of health-focused research projects within his local Far North community for the past several years under the Moko Foundation's research unit- Waharoa ki te Toi. Through collaborations with the University of Auckland and the national research institute the Maurice Wilkins Centre, he has used his strong upbringing within Te Ao Māori to weave Tikanga and Te Reo Māori into the delivery of these research projects so that biomedical approaches to exploring health and disease can better align with the values and world view of the community he serves. Conor's passion has been driving the Fructose in Schools Study (FISS), a highlight for multiple kura around the Kaitaia region that provides local rangatahi with an extracurricular science engagement and a segway for exploring health and science pathways beyond secondary school. Involvement in precision medicine-based projects, including the CREBRF study, has also provided some insight to the future of research and development within the context of health.
Hohaia Holden
Ngāti Maru, Taranaki Whānui ki te Upoko o te Ika
General Manager Māori Partnerships, Manaaki Whenua / Landcare Research, Māori Development
Holden is an experienced Engagement Director with a demonstrated history of working in the government relations industry. Born and raised in Wellington he has spent most of his career in central and local government.
He is currently the General Manager Māori Partnerships at Manaaki Whenua (Landcare Research), one of the seven Crown Research Institutes.
Tala Murray-Mitchell
Yorta-Yorta and Wemba-Wemba
Tala Mitchell is a Wemba Wemba and Yorta Yorta woman from rural Victoria. Tala has a nursing background and specialized in haemodialysis care. She achieved her Master of Public Health (MPH) through the University of Melbourne in 2019. A key focus during the MPH was renal failure within First Nations communities. Currently, Tala is employed part-time as a research assistant for the University of Melbourne within the Melbourne School of Population & Global Health. The current project Tala is working on is improving access to clinical genetic services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities within the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. She also coordinates the SING Australia program. Tala has been selected as a candidate for the Master of Genetic Counseling program. This is a partnership between the University of Melbourne and the Department of Pediatrics. By completing the requirements for this course within the next three years Tala will gain certification to practice within the Human Genetics Society of Australasia.
James Rickard
Tainui, Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Hinerupe
Tohunga Whakairo | Master Carver
NZ Māori Arts and Crafts Institute (NZMACI)
Matua James was among the first intake of tauira selected to study the traditional Māori art form of whakairo (carving) for Te Wānanga Whakairo Rākau at NZMACI back in 1967. He retired last year after 55 years with the Wānanga.
“The magnitude of Matua’s contribution to NZMACI cannot be understated. There is a piece of him in almost every corner of this globe and he will continue to be an inspiration to us all.” - Eraia Kiel, General manager NZMACI. Matua James has not only dedicated decades of his life to teaching whakairo, he has led and been integral to the creation of hundreds of pieces around the world. Some of Matua’s mahi include: Pou maumahara on the grounds of a battlefield in Passchendaele, Belgium, and Tane te Waiora, a kūwaha gifted to Singapore’s Gardens by the Bay.
Dr Ang McGaughran
Dr McGaughran is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Waikato where she leads the Invasomics Lab. Dr McGaughran’s primary interest is in how evolution shapes changes in DNA, how populations rapidly evolve novel genetic solutions to stress, how they become different from each other when isolated in different habitats (i.e., how biodiversity is distributed), and how we can make functional inferences from genomics/genetics research that can inform species management plans. Her team's research at the University of Waikato helps us to understand how species survive when their environment changes. They utilise advanced genomic tools to unlock the secrets hidden in 'invasive DNA' – these invasive/non-invasive genome pairs will help us identify the signatures underlying biological invasion
Te Aupōuri, Te Rarawa / Ngati Haua
Dr Kimiora Henare is a Paewai Rangahau (Research Fellow) and cancer biologist, specialising mainly in the tumour microenvironment and tumour immunology based at Waipapa Taumata Rau (University of Auckland). His main research and teaching focus is on strategies to enhance tumour-directed immunity. Alongside his lab-based biomedical research, Kimiora worked with the NETwork! Project to develop a roadmap for Māori engagement for clinical cancer genomics. Several other cancer genomics projects have since been built off that scaffold where he remains actively involved as part of a cancer genomics research team led by Professor Cristin Print. In addition to his biomedical research expertise, Kimiora teaches Responsiveness to Māori and ethics for the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences (FMHS) at UoA, holds advisory and governance roles for clinical genomics research, and currently serves as a board member of Hei Āhuru Mōwai (Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa) and as a member of the Health Research Council’s Māori Health Committee. Kimiora has been involved in SING-Aotearoa since its inception in 2016.
Erica Gregory
Waikato, Ngāti Maniapoto Manahautū
General Manager, Kaupapa Kura Taiao, Māori Policy and Operations and Regulatory Systems, Te Mana Rauhī Taiao, Environmental Protection Authority.
Erica has an extensive background in public sector policy development and implementation, with nearly 20 years of experience in facilitating Māori engagement in intellectual property policy development, New Zealand’s biosecurity system, regional economic development and environmental decision-making. As Principal Advisor, she led the EPA’s mātauranga programme from its inception in 2017 to the launch of a mātauranga framework in July 2020. From September 2020, as Manahautū, the focus of Kaupapa Kura Taiao is on the implementation of the framework, shifting the EPA’s engagement with Māori to a stronger partnership approach, and taking a strategic approach to embedding Māori perspectives in the regulatory systems of the EPA.
Professor Stephen Robertson
Stephen Robertson has been the Curekids Professor of Paediatric Genetics at Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand since 2002. He specialized in Paediatrics and then subspecialised in Clinical Genetics after training in Auckland and Melbourne. He held a Nuffield Medical Fellowship at the Institute of Molecular Medicine at Oxford University. Professor Robertson is an active clinical geneticist in addition to directing the Laboratory for Genomic Medicine within the Dunedin School of Medicine. His main research interests are the genetics of developmental disorders and the delivery of equitable genomic medicine for all New Zealanders
Violet Walker
Ngati Porou, Ngāpuhi
National Programme Coordinator
Bachelor of Environmental Studies & Te Aka Pūtaiao L5
Violet is the National Programme Coordinator for the bachelor course in Environmental Studies and Te Aka Pūtaiao at Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiārangi. Her role deals with traditional and contemporary models of science relating to the environment. Her connection to the land and the natural world are central to both her academic endeavours and personal life. Violet represents her whānau and hapū in various Treaty claims with the Waitangi Tribunal. Maintaining the sustainability of our natural resources, Te Taiao is paramount to all mahi Violet is involved in. Last year Violet co-hosted a webinar on the Mātauranga Māori Framework for the US-based Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation which provides a virtual platform for learning and exchange among practitioners from indigenous peoples.
Dr David Markie
Dr David Markie is a senior lecturer at the department of pathology at Otago University. His interests are in the identification, characterisation and functional analysis of genes that contribute to the development of colorectal cancer. This includes genes responsible for rare inherited predispositions to cancer, as well as genes that are defective in the more common sporadic forms of cancer.