Our mission is to reveal the fundamental processes associated with oxygen metabolism in cells, and use this knowledge to help diagnose and treat human disease.
Our history
Glenn Vile, Christine Winterbourn, and Tony Kettle (late 1980s).
The development of Mātai Hāora - Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine has been an organic process, beginning in the early 1970s when Christine Winterbourn first joined Robin Carrell in the Clinical Biochemistry Department of the Christchurch Hospital.
Not long afterwards they transferred to the newly opened Christchurch Clinical School and in the late '70s / early '80s Christine Winterbourn set up her own laboratory, which subsequently became known as the Free Radical Research Group in 1990.
In 2012, the group was re-established as the Centre for Free Radical Research with four principal investigators, three of whom were previous PhD students of Christine Winterbourn: Margreet Vissers, Tony Kettle, and Mark Hampton. Christoph Goebl was made a principal investigator in 2021 and Nina Dickerhof followed shortly after in early 2023. In recognition of close collaborative ties with groups at the University of Otago Dunedin and the University of Canterbury, both Liz Ledgerwood and Vanessa Morris joined the Centre as affiliated principal investigators in late 2023.
The Centre announced its new name, Mātai Hāora - Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, at a one-day symposium and celebration for the University of Otago Research Group of the Year award in February 2023.
Centre milestones
| 2024 | Redox Innovation launched to sell Protein Carbonyl ELISA kits that were originally sold via Biocell Corporation |
|---|---|
| First students graduate from the Masters of Biomedical Science program | |
| 2023 | Liz Ledgerwood and Vanessa Morris become affiliated principal investigators |
| The Centre is renamed to Mātai Hāora - Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine | |
| Nina Dickerhof became a principal investigator | |
| 25th BBiomedSc(Hons) student graduates | |
| 2022 | The Centre wins University of Otago Research Group of the Year Award |
| 2021 | Christoph Goebl became a principal investigator |
| 2019 | 10th Royal Society of New Zealand Marsden Grant awarded |
| 2018 | 10th BBiomedSc(Hons) student graduates |
| 2015 | Festschrift held for Christine Winterbourn, marking 50 years since her first scientific publication |
| 2015 | 5th Health Research Council (HRC) Programme Grant awarded |
| 2014 | 25th PhD candidate graduates |
| 2012 | Group re-established as the Centre for Free Radical Research with four principal investigators; Christine Winterbourn, Tony Kettle, Margreet Vissers and Mark Hampton |
| 2011–12 | UOC laboratories closed due the Canterbury earthquakes |
| 2010 | First BBiomedSc(Hons) student graduates |
| 2003 | 10th PhD candidate graduates |
| 1991 | First Health Research Council (HRC) Programme Grant awarded |
| 1990 | Laboratory became known as the Free Radical Research Group |
| 1983 | First PhD student graduates |
| 1979/80 | Christine Winterbourn set up her own laboratory |
| 1976 | First BMedSci student graduates |
| 1973 | Transferred to newly opened Christchurch Clinical School |
| 1972 | First publications with Robin Carrell, including one in Nature on haemolytic anaemia |
| 1971 | Christine Winterbourn joined Robin Carrell in the Clinical Biochemistry Department, Christchurch Hospital |