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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 4300
Email
dvc.pacific@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Professor (Immunology), Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pacific
Department
Pacific Development Office
Qualifications
Cert AT(AIT) DPH(Otago) BSc BBMedSc PGCertEdPD PGDipHELT MBMEDSC(Hons) PhD(VUW)
Research summary
Immunology, Cancer, Acute Rheumatic Fever, Rheumatic Heart Disease, COVID-19, Pacific health

Research

Dianne Sika-Paotonu is a Professor of Immunology and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pacific, at the University of Otago. She is a Fulbright Scholar, having returned from the United States after working as an Immunology Scientist at Harvard University based in the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and in the Health Sciences Centre at the University of Oklahoma.

Dianne is an experienced research scientist, educator and science communicator and commentator, teaching, supervising, and mentoring students and holding leadership roles within the tertiary sector for many years. Her areas of research focus include rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease, cancer and early diagnosis, health equity and inequities, and infectious diseases, and she has established research collaborations leading as Principal Investigator across multiple projects nationally and internationally working with collaborators in overseas and into the Pacific region and beyond. Dianne’s leadership and scientific contributions to these interdisciplinary research projects are evidence based, equity focused, and inclusivity driven, utilising her Pacific health, scientific and immunological expertise.

Science communication and advocacy

Dianne regularly presents at scientific conferences, and over the years has received national and international awards relating to her research work and science communication efforts. She holds numerous service and leadership responsibilities and contributes to local, national and international groups, committees and boards, functioning as chair and/or convenor for many of these.

Dianne has a long-standing track record of advocacy and engagement efforts with many groups, while seeking to address health inequities in society more generally, as the basis for the scientific work she leads and supports.

PhD Research

Dianne completed her PhD in Biomedical Science specialising in Immunology at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research as a member of the cancer vaccines team undertaking work that explored modification of these vaccines to generate stronger immune responses against cancer. Her work showed that increased numbers of cancer-killing immune cells could be generated when synthetic compounds that mimic infected tissue were incorporated into the cancer vaccine preparation. Her work also highlighted the role of specific sub-populations of immune cells in generating these cancer-killing immune responses.

Dianne’s work overall aimed to improve of the potency of these cancer vaccines for the treatment of all cancers. Dianne also previously worked at the Telethon Kids Institute in Perth Western Australia as the Scientific Lead for the Penicillin Research programme within the Group A Streptococcal Disease team based at the Wesfarmers Centre for Vaccines and Infectious Diseases.

Awards

Dianne is an award-winning scientist, Fulbright Scholar, receiving national and international awards for her research work including the Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize, Callaghan Medal 2024, AAW Woman of the Year Award, USA, Liley Medal-Team Award, Cranwell Medal, MacDiarmid New Zealand Young Scientist of the Year – Advancing Human Health & Wellbeing, Colmar Brunton Research Excellence Award, Australasian Society of Immunology BD Science Communication Award, Asia Pacific Science Technology Studies Networks New Contributions to Science Technology & Innovation Award-Indigenous studies, and the Australasian Society of Immunology Buck Memorial Award, among others.

Dianne was also recipient of the Royal Order Award the Most Illustrious Royal Order of Queen Salote Tupou III-Commander, awarded by the late King George Tupou V of Tonga in recognition of scientific achievement.

Academic qualifications

She’s completed a BSc (Physiology), BBMedSc (Molecular Pathology), MBMedSc (1st class Hons - Molecular Pathology), DPH (Public Health), PGDipHELT (Higher Education Learning and Teaching), PGCert (Education & Professional Development), Certificate (Anaesthetic Technology) and PhD (Immunology).

Publications

Lao, C., Gurney, J., Stanley, J., Teng, A., Kuper-Hommel, M., Campbell, I., Krebs, J., Sika-Paotonu, D., Koea, J., Stairmand, J., & Lawrenson, R. (2025). Differences in systemic treatments for breast cancer between patients with and without diabetes. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 138(1613), 67-78. Retrieved from https://www.nzmj.org.nz/ Journal - Research Article

Teng, A., Stanley, J., Krebs, J., Jackson, C. G. C. A., Koea, J., Scott, N., Sika-Paotonu, D., Stairmand, J., … Gurney, J. (2025). Projected increases in the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Aotearoa New Zealand, 2020–2044. New Zealand Medical Journal/Te ara tika o te hauora hapori, 138(1608), 94-106. Retrieved from https://www.nzmj.org.nz/ Journal - Research Article

Teng, A., Stanley, J., Lawrenson, R., Lao, C., Krebs, J., Koea, J., Sika-Paotonu, D., & Gurney, J. (2025). Co-occurence of cancer and diabetes in a high-income country: Age-period-cohort projections 2020-2024. Cancer Epidemiology, 94, 102723. doi: 10.1016/j.canep.2024.102723 Journal - Research Article

Wirth, S., Sika-Paotonu, D., Beaton, A., Raghu, A., Steer, A., & Carapetis, J. (2024). Acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease. In J. J. Ferretti, D. L. Stevens & V. A. Fischetti (Eds.), Streptococcus pyogenes: Basic biology to clinical manifestations. (2nd ed.) (pp. 617-660). Oklahoma City, OK: University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. Chapter in Book - Research

Burgess, J., Raman, S., Wiles, S., Long, A.-M., Smith-Ali, D., Sesan, T., & Sika-Paotonu, D. (2024, June). Science communication as a human right. Panel discussion at the Australian Science Communicators (ASC) National Conference: Support connect grow, Perth, Australia. Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

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