Dr Peter Lehrke’s expertise was critical to the design of PharmaNZ’s innovative pharmaceutical factory. A nutritional biochemist with over 25 years experience in the pharmaceutical and natural health products sectors, Dr Lehrke led the PharmaNZ technical team through the conversion of a derelict coolstore into New Zealand’s first full-service factory specialising in the production of…
Jason Morgan is helping science take great strides in the world of e-learning. Jason teaches chemistry and physics at St Peter’s in Cambridge, where he is also Director of eLearning. His enthusiasm for hand-held devices, apps and all things on-line proved invaluable during the 2020 lockdown period. Digital learning extends Jason’s longstanding interest in best-practice…
Greta Dromgool’s teaching and contributions to the Science Learning Hub have boosted science education regionally and nationally. Greta is hugely committed to growing a love for science, sharing her enthusiasm for the discipline with her students (currently as Head of Science at Berkley Normal Middle School) and with her peers through her role as a…
As New Product Development Technologist for PharmaNZ, Lucy Yang is on the lookout for innovative health and performance-boosting formulas. When PharmaNZ receives a brief for a new supplement, Lucy Yang’s research is the starting point. This yields vital information into ingredient benefits, potency and formulation options, as well as discoveries such as combinations that enhance…
Shalini Guleria’s revolutionary ScienceBox enterprise empowers kids to enjoy the magic of science. Shalini makes science accessible through exciting activities using ordinary household items, provided via school visits, holiday programmes and a subscription club. The club funds free ScienceBox visits and events for low-decile communities. During lockdown Shalini created an online STEM challenge series and…
A genuine star in NZ’s artificial breeding world, Neil Standley provides critical support for LIC’s laboratories. Each spring, LIC dispatches up to 140,000 straws of bull semen per day to New Zealand farms. Neil Standley is responsible for seeing that this happens without a hitch. As well as taking care of production lab technicalities and…
Manaaki Taiao ki Kirikiriroa is both accomplished practitioner and influential advocate in the realm of bicultural science frameworks. A seven-person team within Manaaki Whenua/Landcare Research (MWLR), Manaaki Taiao ki Kirikiriroa supports the organisation’s commitment to treaty-based research frameworks, actively builds Mātauranga Māori capability of non-Māori colleagues and empowers communities to combine indigenous and western scientific…
Associate Professor Kura Paul-Burke blends western science with mātauranga Māori to help coastal communities manage marine taonga. Shellfish such as mussels indicate the health of our coastal environments and are a valued food source. In Ohiwa Harbour, Paul-Burke used local understanding of natural signs – ngā tohu o te taiao – and maramataka (the Māori…
Dr Ian Kusabs has proven that a traditional Māori fishing method stacks up scientifically for monitoring the health of lakes and streams. Tau kōura uses bundles of bracken tied to submerged ropes, which provide an attractive habitat for native crayfish. Kōura is a keystone species in our freshwater ecosystems and function in Dr Kusabs’s words…
Dr Nina Scott’s research brings Mātauranga Māori to medicine, tangibly improving health outcomes for Māori. A leading expert in the use of kaupapa Māori methodologies for health research with more than 30 peer reviewed articles to her name, Dr Scott’s latest achievement is the Harti Hauora Tamariki Study. Designed using the He Pikanga Waiora Framework…