Greetings from the Mana Whakahaere
Nei raa ngaa mihi aroha mai te whaanau o Te Niwha ki a koutou katoa,
Ngaa rangatira o te motu teenaa koutou, teenaa koutou, teenaa koutou katoa.
Dear friends and whaanau,
It is an absolute pleasure to share with you all the Te Niwha Update. You can expect to receive the update the first Tuesday of each month going forward. We are aware that you will undoubtedly receive many newsletters and paanui and so for this reason - we aim to keep ours brief and informative. In between be sure to check out our website, follow us on LinkedIn - our Instagram is on its way to Social Media stardom and of course you can always drop a line to our team at teniwha@otago.ac.nz.
Save the Date! We have the confirmed the dates for the 2025 Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Preparedness Summit to be held at Turangawaewae Marae, Waikato - Monday 10th of November to Thursday the 13th of November, 2025.
Key items in this update:
- Two funding opportunities
- Publications
- Hui and conferences
- Brief Insights
As a Strategic Science Investment funded research platform - it is important that we are able to demonstrate assurance that we are indeed building world-class research excellence. We have underway our Te Niwha Science Review with our panel who will conduct the science review across three phases over the next 10 months. The panel is chaired by Dr Katherine Gottlieb and we are both grateful and fortunate to Professor Paul Kelly, Dr Michelle Linterman and Professor Jason Trubiano for their time and expertise. As we look to complete Phase One - the remaining phases will bring our experts to Aotearoa to engage with our projects and deepen our review.
Finally, last week I was fortunate to attend the Pediatric Association Society conference in Hawaii, they had a record of over 8,800 registrants. A magnificent sharing of research and interventions related to children of great interest and alignment to Te Niwha. While the research landscape of funding in parts of the world are undergoing change - it was heartening and encouraging to see at the heart was a workforce determined to see to the wellbeing of people, that they forge partnerships globally for mutual outcomes and investment and that we remain united in our global efforts. I look forward to sharing more of the emerging partnerships in due course for our pandemic preparedness and infectious diseases challenges.
na te aroha
Te Pora
Rapid Response Research Fund:
Alert Te Niwha of Research Gaps in Urgent or Emerging Infectious Diseases Issues
Te Niwha holds a small amount of funds to address urgent and/or emerging health issues related to infectious diseases in a Rapid Response Research Fund. Any research will have to be completed by Dec 2025, so we are asking for alerts on urgent/emerging health issues related to infectious diseases, where research could address a gap in knowledge or develop tools for prevention or management of these issues.
The Te Niwha Director and Science Leadership will review alerts received by 12 May and follow up on research questions that fit the profile of the fund.
Submit your alert here
If you have any questions please contact the Te Niwha Team at: teniwha@otago.ac.nz
Kia Tupu Community Development Grants:
Register your interest
He pōwhiri tēnei ki ngā hapori puta noa i te motu
Te Niwha Kia Tupu/ Community Development Grants support capability and capacity building in infectious diseases and/or pandemic preparedness of community groups, non-profit organisations, iwi, marae, hapū, kura/schools.
Please register your interest here before Monday 12 May 2025.
If you have any questions please contact the Te Niwha Team at: teniwha@otago.ac.nz
Save the Date:
Aotearoa, New Zealand Pandemic Preparedness & Infectious Diseases Summit 2025
We are excited to share that Te Niwha will return to Turangawaewae Marae for the Infectious Diseases & Pandemic Preparedness Summit 2025.
📅 10 - 13 November 2025
📍 Turangawaewae Marae, Ngāruawāhia (~ 20 km from Hamilton)
We will provide an update with registration and abstract submission details in due course.
Publications:
As the Te Niwha funded research progresses, publications are starting to come out. You can now follow Te Niwha’s Google Scholar page to keep up to date with new publications from our researchers.
Here the latest from 2025:
- Preparing for the next pandemic: insights from Aotearoa New Zealand’s Covid-19 response
NP French et al. - The Lancet Regional Health–Western Pacific, 2025 - Immunogenicity and safety of measles-mumps-rubella vaccine delivered by the aerosol, intradermal and intramuscular routes in previously vaccinated young adults: a randomized controlled trial protocol
S Saha et al. - PloS one, 2025 - A national assessment of the drinking water infrastructure deficit in New Zealand by territorial authority and sociodemographic characteristics
M Puente-Sierra et al. - Australasian Journal of Water Resources, 2025 - Avian influenza virus surveillance across New Zealand and its subantarctic islands detects H1N9 in migratory shorebirds, but not 2.3. 4.4 b HPAI H5N1
SJ Waller et al. - Influenza and other respiratory viruses, 2025
Upcoming conferences and workshops in New Zealand relevant to infectious diseases:
- Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa - 5 June 2025, Fale Pasifika
- Kai Conference – 29-30 June 2025, Whakatāne, convened by Ngā Āhuatanga o te Kai (an institute preserving culture through food) and NZFSSRC
- Antimicrobial Resistance Satellite, QRW – 2-3 September 2025, Christchurch
- Aotearoa New Zealand Immunisation Conference 2025 and pre-conference workshop – 3-5 September 2025, Hamilton
Insights:
Building capability in infectious diseases research is at the core of Te Niwha’s mission. The infographic below provides a glimpse into some numbers around the workforce behind the research funded by Te Niwha.
