$1.5M awarded to develop Māori health research workforce
The Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) announced today that it has awarded $1.5M towards the development of
the Māori health research workforce through its Career Development Awards programme.
Among the award recipients are two outstanding postdoctoral Māori health researchers who have each been awarded
Postdoctoral Fellowships to continue to develop their areas of research.
Dr Sarah-Jane Paine from the Sleep/Wake Research Centre at Massey University in Wellington has been awarded the HRC Eru
Pomare Research Fellowship in Māori Health. Dr Paine will embark on an innovative programme of research that will
advance the sleep health of all New Zealanders. This includes continuing her research into the circadian body clock and
how this clock regulates sleep timing and undertaking a comparison of the prevalence of circadian rhythm sleep disorders
in Māori and non-Māori, and examining relationships with age, sex, night work and socioeconomic deprivation.
Dr Paine also plans to develop best-practice guidelines to improve health service delivery for Māori.
Dr Lynne Pere from the Health Services Research Centre at Victoria University of Wellington will use her Postdoctoral
Fellowship to investigate indigenous mental health. Dr Pere will research the influence of culture on the meanings that
indigenous peoples from New Zealand, Australia and Canada, who have experienced mental illness, impart to their illness
and the subsequent implications of this for mental health service delivery and policy.
An important part of the HRC’s mission is to foster the Māori health research workforce in New Zealand. Eleven Māori
Health Research Career Development Awards were made in the 2007 year. These include one Rangahau Hauora award, two
Masters awards, five PhD awards and two Postdoctoral Fellowships.
ENDS