Research Fellow
Research interests
Dr Faatoese's research explores cardiovascular risk among indigenous and ethnic minority communities.
Background
Dr Faatoese joined the Christchurch Heart Institute as a research assistant for the Hauora Manawa / Community Heart Study and then undertook her doctoral studies that focussed on cardiovascular risk profiles of Māori and non-Māori communities. This research continues explore the potential of novel biomarkers to stratify cardiovascular risk among Maori who bear a greater burden of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.
Recently, Dr Faatoese was awarded the 2014 HRC Pacific Postdoctoral Fellowship which will support her current interests in novel lipoprotein biomarkers and their associations with cardiovascular risk among Māori and non-Māori communities. This award enables the recruitment of a Pacific Island cohort from the Christchurch community in collaboration with Pacific Trust Canterbury, a whānau-ora based Pacific Health provider.
Dr Faatoese is also the Christchurch representative for the University of Otago Division of Health Sciences Pacific Strategic Group whose primary aim is to provide support for enhancing Pacific achievement in Health Sciences.