Recent Highlights

Two OSMS awards to Biochemistry Department staff
OSMS website
The Otago School of Medical Sciences held its annual Awards ceremony on Wednesday 27th January in the Hunter Centre. Over 100 academic and general staff and students attended the ceremony to celebrate the achievements of the 2009 year.

Grants a delight to researchers
Otago Daily Times, 14 Dec 2009
University of Otago researchers are bringing to New Zealand a new scientific technique using light pulses to study brain cells, which could help pave the way for new treatments for Parkinson's disease.

Budding biochemist gains PhD scholarship to Cambridge
U of O Press Release, 23 Nov 2009
A University of Otago biochemistry honours student has received a prestigious Woolf Fisher Scholarship to support her PhD study at Cambridge University.

Scholarships for Otago pair
Otago Daily Times, 4 Nov 2009
University of Otago students Julian Peat and Naomi White have gained national Rutherford Foundation scholarships to support their studies at Cambridge University next year.

Geneticist awarded fellowship
Otago Daily Times, 24 Oct 2009
University of Otago geneticist, Associate Prof Parry Guilford, has gained a James Cook Fellowship to pursue innovative research aimed at reversing or preventing the early stages of stomach cancer.

Biochemist top teacher for a second time
Otago Bulletin 13 October 2007
The enthusiasm and joy Tony Zaharic brings to the relatively difficult discipline of biochemistry has seen his students vote him the Otago University Students’ Association top teacher for a second time.

Big grant for Otago HIV drug research
Otago Daily Times, 23 Sept 2009
University of Otago scientists studying a previously unexploited weakness in HIV biology are taking "an exciting new step" by seeking drugs to attack it.

Susan E. Gardiner receives ASHS Outstanding International Horticulturist Award
http://www.physorg.com, 22 June 2009
Susan E. Gardiner has received the ASHS Outstanding International Horticulturist Award from the American Society for Horticultural Science. She has been given the award in recognition of her longstanding and valuable contribution to international horticultural science. Dr. Gardiner will be presented with the award on 25 July 2009 at the annual ASHS conference in St. Louis, Missouri.

$630,000 grant given to Otago biochemist
Otago Daily Times, 6 April 2009
UNIVERSITY of Otago biochemist· Dr Chris Brown has gained an international grant of about $630,000 to study the hidden "postal codes" which help move key RNA molecules to their correct destination within cells.

Otago scientist advocates search for super-bees
Otago Daily Times, 8 Feb 2009
Feral honey bee colonies decimated by the varroa mite could cost the primary sector millions of dollars, a scientist has warned.
The University of Otago's director of genetics, Peter Dearden, said feral bee colonies were responsible for most of the pastoral, horticultural and cropping pollination, but in the North Island the varroa mite had decimated the population.

University of Otago tops Marsden funding
Otago Daily Times, 23 Sept 2008
And the Department of Biochemistry gains over $3m of it.

University gets $40m for gene technology
Otago Daily Times, 12 Sept 2008
University of Otago staff are celebrating a $40 million government grant which will enable the university to buy this country's third gene sequencing machine and almost double the number of scientists working in the highly specialised area of genomics.

University announces Early Career Awards
Otago Bulletin, 8 Aug 2008
Deputy Vice-Chancellor Research Professor Geoff White this week announced five Early Career Awards for Distinction in Research.

Otago students win grants
Otago Daily Times, 7 Aug 2008
Gemma Dickson (Biochemistry Dept/School of Dentistry) and Ana Claasen (Anatomy & Structral Biology/Biochemistry Depts) win prestigious Top Achiever Doctoral Scholarships.

Biofuel from bacteria attracts worldwide attention
Otago Daily Times, 22 July 2008
Microscopic green bacteria found almost everywhere could one day be used to power the world, and University of Otago researcher Dr Tina Summerfield is helping bring that idea closer to reality.

Big boost for medical research
Otago Daily Times, 5 June 2008
Health Research Council funding totalling about $21.6 million has boosted University of Otago medical research into a host of conditions, ranging from rheumatoid arthritis to schizophrenia, and into "intergenerational cycles of adversity".

Outbreak preparations world-class, expert says
Otago Daily Times, Dec 2007
NEW ZEALAND is among the world's leaders in preparations to counter an influenza pandemic, Prof Robert Webster, an Otago-born world authority on avian influenza, says.

Lottery Funds Boost University Research
Otago Daily Times
Otago secures 57% of national health research funding.

Biology's bad boys may come good
Sunday Star - Times
THEY'VE BEEN blamed for illnesses including cancer and heart dtsease, not to mention making us age faster - but reactive free radical molecules may also be good for us, Otago University researchers now say.

Genetics research earns awards
Otago Daily Times, 4 December 2007
Medal and $5000 grant

OUSA Top Teacher
Otago Bulletin 2 November 2007
An ability to turn “mindnumbing biochemistry” into something of interest has led Biochemistry Lecturer Tony Zaharic to be named the best teacher at the University in 2007 by the Otago University Students’ Association (OUSA).

Frog killer fungus 'breakthrough'
BBC News website 30 October 2007
New Zealand scientists have found what appears to be a cure for the disease that is responsible for wiping out many of the world's frog populations.

Young achiever 'blown away'
Ashburton Guardian 10 October 2007
The judges had a tough job, but a winner was chosen at last night’s TrustPower-sponsored Rotary Club of Ashburton 2007 Young Achiever Award.

Otago Tops Marsden Funding Round
Otago Daily Times 7 September 2007
UNIVERSITY of Otago research on many topics, ranging from the origins of the solar system to aspects of a potential new anti-HIV therapy, will be boosted by an $11.3 million funding injection from the Marsden Fund.

Prize for biologist
Otago Daily Times 1 September 2007
EVOLUTIONARY biologist Dr Peter Dearden is celebrating after winning the $5000 Invitrogen Life Science Award - one of New Zealand's major scientific prizes - at this year's Queenstown Molecular Biology Conference.

Funding success for Otago
Otago Daily Times 7 June 2007
THE University of Otago has topped the country in a "stellar" research performance, gaining $28.6 million in the Health Research Council's latest funding round.

Faculty of Fortunate Discovery
Otago Daily Times, April 5th 2007
"Serendipity plays a major role in scientific discoveries" world-leading University of Otago biochemist Prof Warren Tate says.

Researchers benefit round the clock from grant
Otago Daily Times 27 March 2007
A $468,000 grant should enable two University of Otago researchers to keep more sociable hours.

Lipoprotein indicator of four types of heart disease
Otago Daily Times 27 March 2007
University of Otago researchers have proved a seldom measured lipoprotein is a strong indicator for four kinds of heart disease.

Research shows testing for stroke could begin early
Otago Daily Times 24 March 2007
People at risk of vascular disease share lipoprotein(a)

University research gives family hope
Otago Daily Times 20 March 2007
The discovery of how a deadly hereditary type of stomach cancer develops offers hope to a Tauranga family stricken by the disease.

Research offers hope to Maori family with rare cancer
Otago Daily Times 20 March 2007
Ground-breaking University of Otago research has brought new hope that a rare, deadly hereditary cancer can be stopped without removing the stomachs of its victims.
It has also opened the door to treat the globally significant, non-genetic form of the disease, and the chance to test a theory that cancer grows from a detectable — and potentially beatable — stem cell.

Otago links to gene-screening breakthrough
Otago Daily Times 11 January 2007
Large-scale gene screening is now more affordable after the development of a technique by genetics researchers at the U niversity of Otago in collaboration with Myriad Genetics in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Otago scientists help crack code of honey bee
Otago Daily Times 28 October 2006
The genetic code of the honey bee has been unlocked with the help of four University of Otago scientists who have notched up a New Zealand first in the process.

Taking the fight to the enemy’s door
Otago Daily Times 26 September 2006
UNDERNEATH, SOME of the most dangerous killers of our time are also very beautiful. Killers such as HIV and bird flu have at their heart delicate molecular structures of helix curls and suspended symmetries that would grace the foyer of any modern corporate headquarters.

Kina researcher wins grant for work
Otago Daily Times 7 September 2006
Biochemistry researcher Daniel Garama has joined a team of University of Otago scientists seeking to unlock the multimillion dollar export potential of kina.

Research brings award for Otago lecturer
Otago Daily Times, 31 August 2006
Queenstown: The fruit fly and the honeybee may be little more than insects to most people but for Otago University biochemistry lecturer Peter Dearden, they have become his life's work.

Research medal for Otago Scientist
Otago Daily Times, 26 August 2006
A University of Otago scientist, with cures for HIV and Alzheimer's in his sights, has been awarded the institution's highest research honour.

Otago staff recognised with research awards
Otago Daily Times, 12 August 2006
Six leading researchers at the University of Otago have been awarded Early Career Awards for Distinction in Research.

Dunedin research projects funded
Otago Daily Times, 8 July 2006
Two Dunedin health research projects benefiting the health of New Zealanders have been allocated funding by the Health Research Council of New Zealand through the International Investment Opportunities Fund.

Scholarships awarded for overseas study
Otago Daily Times, 24 March 2006
University of Otago doctoral students Holly Mathieson and Julia Young have won prestigious travelling scholarships providing up to $25,000 each for overseas study.

Deadly toxin may hold key to Otago scientist's study
Otago Daily Times, 20 March 2006
The secrets of a toxin often targeted by terrorists could be unlocked by a scheme linking scientists in New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

Rowheath Trust award recognition for early career scientists
Otago Daily Times, 30 January 2006
Leading University of Otago researchers Associate Prof Richie Poulton and biochemist Dr Catherine Day are joint winners of the university's Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal for 2005.

Biochemist's study gets down to basics: X-ray equipment to study molecular structure
Otago Daily Times, 7 January 2006
A powerful new million dollar X-ray machine for studying protein structure at the atomic level will further strengthen University of Otago research into infectious diseases, biochemist Prof Kurt Krause says.

Research unravelling mystery of plant physiology recognised
Otago Daily Times, 21 November 2005
University of Otago biochemist Dr Julian Eaton-Rye has won a prestigious national award for outstanding research in plant physiology.

Awards recognise research excellence
Otago Daily Times, 18 November 2005
Several staff and students have received awards from the University of Otago School of Medical Sciences, recognising their research excellence.

Four days meeting Nobel Prize Winners was a young student's dream trip
New Zealand Herald, July 2005
You’d excuse Peter Mace for being a tad overawed. The boy from Tokoroa is not long back from mingling with dozens of Nobel Prize winners, chatting with them about their discoveries, even sharing a quiet meal with one. Heady stuff, you'd think.

Distinguished Research Medal Awarded
Otago Daily Times, 13 August 2005
Internationally renowned cancer geneticist Prof Anthony Reeve has been awarded the University of Otago's highest research distinction, the Distinguished Research Medal.