Biochemistry Graduation Celebration December 2021
Friday 17 December 2021
Congratulations to all former students graduating this month with a degree in Biochemistry!
Honours graduate Tisiola Talalima shares how the University helped her help others
Thursday 16 December 2021
Having recently completed her honours degree year, School of Biomedical Sciences graduate Tisiola reflects on what the past few years at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology have meant to her.
Blood test for early Alzheimer’s detection supported by health grant
Tuesday 14 December 2021
A University of Otago researcher is another step closer to developing a blood test that can detect people at risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, thanks to a NZ Lottery Health Grant.
Otago Biochemistry Marsdens 2021 – Lim explores the unknown of turning genes off and on
Tuesday 14 December 2021
Four research projects in the Biochemistry Department received prestigious Marsden funding this year. We introduce the projects in a series of brief reports.
Dr Chun Shen Lim is using his research funding to tunnel deep into how your cells control your genes.
Kuku resilience investigated by Dr Nathan Kenny in latest Marsden Grant research
Monday 13 December 2021
No one looks at kuku in quite the same way as Dr Nathan Kenny (Ngāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa) from the School of Biomedical Sciences.
Dr Joon Kim considers how stress causes anxiety after receiving Marsden Grant
Thursday 9 December 2021
With Marsden Grant funding from the NZ Royal Society/Te Apārangi, Dr Joon Kim plans to produce the first evidence of how CRH neural circuits affect anxiety, providing insights into how stress affects the mind.
Otago Biochemistry Marsdens 2021 – Nathan’s resilient mussels
Wednesday 8 December 2021
Four research projects in the Biochemistry Department received prestigious Marsden funding this year. We introduce the projects in a series of brief reports.
Dr Nathan Kenny (Ngāi Tahu and Te Ātiawa) joined the Biochemistry Department this year as a Rutherford Research Fellow, and has been awarded $360,000 of Marsden funding over three years to investigate why some green lipped mussels are more resilient than others.
Otago Biochemistry Marsdens 2021 – Steph and Indranil link RNA with brain disease
Tuesday 30 November 2021
Four research projects in the Biochemistry Department received prestigious Marsden funding this year. We introduce the projects in a series of brief reports.
Associate Professor Stephanie Hughes and Research Fellow Dr Indranil Basak spend a decent chunk of their time trying to understand how brain diseases work. A lot of their focus has been on a part of the cell called the lysosome.
Otago Biochemistry Marsdens 2021 – Peter and his flexible degradation machine
Friday 26 November 2021
Four research projects in the Biochemistry Department this year received prestigious Marsden funding. We introduce the projects in a series of brief reports. Associate Professor Peter Mace is fascinated by proteins – the micromachines inside our cells that do everything we need to be alive. He is particularly interested in how proteins are tagged to be destroyed or ‘degraded’, and how cells use this to control proteins and the things they do.
Staff recognised for COVID-19 efforts at Otago Staff Awards
Friday 19 November 2021
The recent challenges presented by COVID-19 have impacted the way most people go about their work, something noted in the recent University of Otago Staff Awards.
2021 Otago Biochemistry MSc talks
Friday 12 November 2021
The folks at Otago Biochemistry recently spent two lunchtimes listening to students in the annual MSc talks. Topics varied from oogenesis in honey bees to onion bulb formation, and from noncoding RNAs in breast cancer to antibiotic resistance in Pseudomonas bacteria, plus a whole lot more in between.
Members of Microbiology: Meet Lupeoletalaleleiamaima Isaia
Thursday 11 November 2021
Witnessing antibiotic resistance in her homeland of Samoa has Lupeoletalaleleiamaima Isaia concerned that we may be returning to a period where people die of simple infections.
TB research will make ‘enormous global health impact’
Thursday 14 October 2021
University of Otago researchers are behind a major scientific breakthrough which could lead to elimination of the world’s biggest infectious diseases killer, tuberculosis (TB).
Otago Biochemistry’s Smart Ideas success with the 2021 Endeavour Fund
Tuesday 5 October 2021
Two innovative research projects emerging from the Department of Biochemistry have each been awarded a million dollars over three years through the MBIE ‘Smart Ideas’ Endeavour Fund.
Researchers pinpoint cause of fatigue during pregnancy
Thursday 23 September 2021
Pregnant women now have a scientific reason for skipping the gym during pregnancy; the same hormone gearing up the body for breastfeeding is also telling the brain to relax rather than run.
Otago wins prestigious national teaching award
Wednesday 22 September 2021
For the seventh time in 10 years, the University of Otago has won Aotearoa’s top tertiary teaching award.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology supporting migraine treatment
Wednesday 22 September 2021
Professor Debbie Hay shares her research into G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and how understanding their responses to drugs could help in the treatment of migraine.
Otago Biochemistry welcomes Dr Nathan Kenny
Friday 17 September 2021
Haere mai Dr Nathan Kenny! Nathan joined Otago Biochemistry last week as a brand new lecturer and research group leader. His plans include researching resilience in kuku, green-lipped mussels, in a project supported by a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship.
Members of Microbiology: Meet Cecilia Wang
Thursday 16 September 2021
While completing her final year in the Department of Microbiology, PhD candidate Cecilia Wang took the time to share her research on agricultural microbiomes and what brought her to the University of Otago.
Recent PhD graduate discusses how diabetes drug could aid lung cancer sufferers
Wednesday 15 September 2021
Dr Abigail Bland can be found in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, looking at how the diabetes drug metformin can be repurposed for a subtype of lung cancer.
The secret to teaching is fun
Wednesday 8 September 2021
In a laboratory full of human cadavers, Anatomy Lecturer Dr Latika Samalia will sense when it’s time to tell one of her stories.
45th Meeting of the Biochemistry Department Research Society
Wednesday 1 September 2021
For the first time in its 45-year history, the meeting of the Otago Biochemistry Department Research Society, aka the Fourth-Year talks, was held entirely online.
$1.2 m for research into stomach cancer drug delivery
Thursday 26 August 2021
Professor Parry Guilford and the Cancer Genetics Laboratory have been looking for a drug treatment that will inhibit the growth of inherited stomach cancer. Part of this search will now be developing a system that will deliver chemotherapy directly to tumours growing in the stomach.
Professor Neil Gemmell named Dean of School of Biomedical Sciences
Monday 23 August 2021
After making global headlines in his search for the Loch Ness monster, Professor Neil Gemmell has moved on to his next adventure as the new Dean of the School of Biomedical Sciences.
Tracking COVID‑19 and variants of concern in wastewater around the globe
Wednesday 18 August 2021
An international team of researchers led by the University of Otago and Western University, Canada, is investigating how wastewater can provide an accurate picture of COVID‑19 cases in a population and detect emerging variants of concern.
2021 Otago School of Biomedical Sciences Postgraduate Symposium
Thursday 29 July 2021
From biofilms to breast cancer and connective tissue to kākāpō, the annual Otago School of Biomedical Sciences Postgraduate Symposium once again showcased the diversity and quality of research carried out by postgraduate students in the school. And the Department of Biochemistry, as one of the five member departments of the school, contributed its fair share of the research on display.
Professional Practice Fellow Kaye Wilson Retires
Tuesday 27 July 2021
Kaye Wilson, who has been Teaching Fellow and Professional PracticeFellow in the Department of Biochemistry for 27 years, retired on Friday the 9th July. The occasion was marked by a morning tea and dinner.
Obituary: Emeritus Professor G. B. Petersen
Friday 23 July 2021
Emeritus Professor George Bouet Petersen, ONZM FRSNZ, died in hospital on 11 July 2021, aged 87. Professor Petersen was born in Palmerston North in 1933. He graduated from the University of Otago in 1956 with an MSc followed by a DPhil from the University of Oxford. He was appointed to the Chair in Biochemistry at Otago in 1968 and remained Head of Department until 1991, retiring in 1999.
Welcome to the enormous world of Microbiology
Tuesday 20 July 2021
Every year, while university students are enjoying their mid-year break, the Department of Microbiology and Immunology labs become a place of discovery for Year 11 biology and science students.
International Science Festival Expo 2021
Tuesday 13 July 2021
For most of the past weekend, enthusiastic biochemists and geneticists from Otago University were working flat-out introducing passers-by to the science of the molecules that make up our cells.
Rising star Dr Charlotte King wins Early Career Award for Distinction in Research
Friday 9 July 2021
Dr Charlotte King is a rising star in biological anthropology.
Dr Michael Garratt wins Early Career Award for Distinction in Research
Friday 9 July 2021
Dr Michael (Mike) Garratt's continuing excellence has been recognised with an Early Career Award for Distinction in Research from the University of Otago.
Dr Sarah Diermeier’s extraordinary achievements recognised with Early Career Award
Friday 9 July 2021
Dr Sarah Diermeier has carved out a novel niche that complements New Zealand’s cancer research landscape.
$14m invested in world-leading RNA therapy: University of Otago spinout targeting new cancer treatments
Thursday 8 July 2021
Amaroq Therapeutics, a new biotech start-up spun out of the University of Otago, with one of the world’s most advanced programs in next-generation RNA therapy to target cancer has secured NZ$14m investment to accelerate development.
Male hormones accelerate DNA ageing
Wednesday 7 July 2021
Most of us are familiar with the fact that women live longer than men. But have you ever thought about why and how this happens?
Otago Biochemistry gets newly renovated staffroom
Wednesday 9 June 2021
The wait is over. From today everyone in the biochemistry building can enjoy the newly upgraded ruma kaimahi (staffroom).
How Aotearoa's cheeky kea and kākā will fare with climate change
Thursday 27 May 2021
With global warming decreasing the size of New Zealand’s alpine zone, a University of Otago study found out what this means for our altitude-loving kea.
NZIBO biology stars of tomorrow visit Otago Biochemistry
Wednesday 12 May 2021
A select group of New Zealand’s top high school biology students visited Otago Biochemistry recently as part of the New Zealand International Biology Olympiad (NZIBO) training camp.
Nicholas Madden – singing for royalty is all in a day’s work
Wednesday 12 May 2021
Singing at royal weddings and funerals is literally all in a day’s work for Otago alumnus Nicholas (Nick) Madden.
Celebrating our graduate success
Monday 10 May 2021
Graduates with degrees majoring in Biochemistry or Genetics were invited to a gathering on Saturday to celebrate their achievements.
Mike Murphy & Rob Smith Postgraduate Scholarships announced.
Tuesday 4 May 2021
Ten postgraduate students in the Department of Biochemistry have been awarded the Mike Murphy and Rob Smith Scholarships for 2021.
2021 Jan Anderson awards announced
Thursday 29 April 2021
Ella Redmond and Nicole Thomson are the joint winners of the 2020 Jean Mary (Jan) Anderson Awards in Plant Science.
Biochemistry and Plant Biotechnology student awarded University of Otago’s top undergraduate prize
Thursday 8 February 2018
Biochemistry and Plant Biotechnology student Bridget Thomas has won the prestigious Prince of Wales Prize, University of Otago’s premier undergraduate award, awarded to the most outstanding student completing an undergraduate or honours degree.
