Breastfeeding hormone makes new fathers better dads
Monday 7 September 2020
Fathers of newborn babies can be forgiven for feeling a little hormonal – a new study has shown they are being flooded by the same chemical as a breastfeeding mother.
Why mothers care: New study on how pregnancy hormones change the brain
Wednesday 1 July 2020
Dr Rosie Brown and Prof Dave Grattan have received funding from the Health Research Council of New Zealand to investigate how pregnancy hormones influence the mother’s brain to ensure she looks after her offspring appropriately. The project is co-led by the two researchers from the Departments of Physiology and Anatomy, respectively.
Positive stress - emerging researcher wins prize for stress studies
Wednesday 17 June 2020
Dr Joon Kim from the Iremonger lab has been awarded the 2020 Emerging Researcher Prize of the Brain Health Research Centre (BHRC) of the University of Otago. The prize recognises his recent work on stress neurons in the brain which he presented at a BHRC seminar.
Zebrafish study continues to attract awards
Wednesday 26 February 2020
Kaj Kamstra has won another award for his work on the control of food intake in zebrafish. At the Swiss Winter Conference on Ingestive Behaviour in St. Moritz he received the Young Investigator Award for his outstanding presentation.
Carl Smith Medal for Karl Iremonger
Wednesday 20 November 2019
Dr Karl Iremonger is this year’s recipient of the Rowheath Trust Award and Carl Smith Medal. The University’s early career award recognizes outstanding research performance, including the discovery and dissemination of new knowledge and development of innovative technology.
A lactation hormone in males?
Tuesday 12 November 2019
The hormone prolactin has many functions beyond its originally described role in milk production. Prof Dave Grattan and Dr Rosie Brown have now received funding from the Royal Society Marsden Fund to investigate the role of prolactin in parental behaviour of fathers at the Centre for Neuroendocrinology.
A fat hormone that regulates blood sugar
Wednesday 6 November 2019
Each year the Centre for Neuroendocrinology awards the CNE PhD Prize to an outstanding PhD student. This year, in a very tight competition, Kaj Kamstra won the prize for his work on the hormone leptin in zebrafish and how it controls metabolism.
The brain's control over diabetic hearts
Thursday 10 October 2019
Shivani Sethi just won the 2019 PhD student speaker prize of the Otago Medical School Research Society for her work on understanding how the brain controls the autonomous nervous system driving the heart in diabetes.
Sextuple success by CNE trio
Monday 9 September 2019
A huge delegation of CNE members attended this year's Queenstown Research Week to present their research at the HNNA Symposium and Medical Sciences Congress. The high quality of the work resulted in 6 awards being won.
HRC grant to investigate stress in motherhood
Friday 5 July 2019
Dr Karl Iremonger is interested in the brain circuits that regulate stress. Together with Prof Dave Grattan (Associate Investigator) he has now received funding from the New Zealand Health Research Council to investigate the neuronal mechanisms that control the changes in behaviour and stress levels during pregnancy and early motherhood over a period of 3 years.
Student success at the 2019 BHRC Symposium
Wednesday 12 June 2019
PhD student Bradley Jamieson won the award for best oral presentation at the Brain Health Research Centre (BHRC) Symposium 2019 for his work on the regulation of fertility by the brain’s clock. Shivani Sethi took home the trophy for the best poster presentation of her PhD work on the brain networks that are involved in altered autonomous nervous system activity in diabetes.
Student wins prize for work on zebrafish
Thursday 30 May 2019
Kaj Kamstra just won a prize for his 3-minute presentation about his PhD work with zebrafish at the Postgraduate Symposium of the School of Biomedical Sciences.
CNE student awarded for report on summer research project
Wednesday 1 May 2019
Eleni Hackwell from the Grattan Lab has been awarded a prize for the report on her summer research project on lactational infertility.
Two postdocs successful in attaining research support
Wednesday 13 March 2019
Drs Kristina Smiley and Teodora Georgescu have been awarded project support grants from the British Society for Neuroendocrinology to help in their research on the hormone prolactin.
Researcher Profile - Dr Richard Piet
Tuesday 12 March 2019
Dr Richard Piet is one of the recent researchers to become a principal investigator in the Centre for Neuroendocrinology. “My research focuses on the neurophysiological regulation of the circadian clock,” Richard says, “and how that rhythm might impact reproduction.”
Researcher Profile - Associate Professor Christine Jasoni
Monday 4 February 2019
Associate Professor Christine Jasoni is a developmental biologist focused on understanding the developing brain and particularly how early life challenges affect the shaping of the brain.
Researcher Profile - Dr Karl Iremonger
Friday 4 January 2019
The work of Dr Karl Iremonger’s laboratory provides insight into the neural systems that control stress and the changes that may occur in stress-related disorders.
Researcher Profile - Professor Allan Herbison
Wednesday 12 December 2018
Professor Allan Herbison is a neuroendocrinologist working with some of the strangest cells in the human body; gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons.
Neurological Foundation awards fellowship to CNE postdoc
Tuesday 4 December 2018
Dr Joon Kim has secured 2 years of funding for a postdoctoral fellowship from the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand. The grant will help elucidating the role of stress-responsive neurons in the brain.
Otago researchers discover a promising therapy for improving heart attack survivorship
Tuesday 4 December 2018
In pre-clinical trials, University of Otago researchers have discovered a promising new therapy that has the potential to be used clinically for improving survival rates for people who suffer a heart attack.
Dr Rosie Brown is new Sir Charles Hercus Fellow
Monday 26 November 2018
The New Zealand Health Research Council has just awarded Dr Rosie Brown with one of this year’s Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowships for her project “The neurobiology of maternal care; understanding the critical role of prolactin”.
A week of prizes, posters and lectures for the CNE
Monday 19 November 2018
An eventful week filled with the 2018 CNE lecture given by Dr Paolo Giacobini, the CNE PhD thesis competition and the Women’s Wellbeing Symposium has allowed CNE researchers to win a number of prizes.
Prof. Dave Grattan new CNE Director
Tuesday 13 November 2018
The Centre for Neuroendocrinology has a new leadership team. Prof. Dave Grattan and Associate Prof. Rebecca Campbell have been announced as the new Director and Deputy Director, respectively.
CNE young researcher recognised through early career award
Thursday 18 October 2018
The University of Otago has just announced this year's recipients of the Early Career Award for Distinction in Research. Among the winners is Dr Rosie Brown who is awarded the prize both for her work on the role of the hormone prolactin on maternal nursing behaviour and her future potential as a successful researcher.
Researcher Profile - Associate Professor Rebecca Campbell
Wednesday 10 October 2018
Associate Professor Rebecca Campbell's lab works on the neural circuits that control fertility, focusing in particular on polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a very common form of female infertility.
PhD student receives MacGibbon Fellowship
Friday 7 September 2018
India Sawyer, PhD student with Prof. Greg Anderson, has just been awarded the MacGibbon PhD travel fellowship to perform research in the USA.
Researcher Profile - Associate Professor Stephen Bunn
Monday 3 September 2018
Associate Professor Stephen Bunn is interested in the release of catecholamines from the hypothalamus and adrenal gland. He uses approaches such as cell culture and transgenic animals.
Smart and looking good - CNE researchers take home range of prizes
Friday 31 August 2018
CNE researchers won 3 academic prizes at the Medical Sciences Congress at the Queenstown Research Week 2018 and also won the Fashionomics prize at one of the social events.
Researcher Profile - Professor Colin Brown
Tuesday 7 August 2018
Professor Colin Brown works on how the brain controls various body functions such as blood pressure, giving birth, milk production through the hormones vasopressin and oxytocin.
$5 million boost for Otago team’s quest to restore fertility in women with disabling ovary disorder
Friday 22 June 2018
A University of Otago research team whose ultimate goal is to restore fertility in women suffering Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS), has received a significant boost with an almost $5 million grant from the Health Research Council.
New clues to help restore fertility in women with disabling ovary disorder
Monday 9 April 2018
Ground-breaking research out of the University of Otago is showing potential to restore fertility in women suffering Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
First human trial of potentially game-changing diabetes treatment set to commence
Wednesday 7 February 2018
University of Otago researchers are ready to take a significant step in the development of a new natural product that could potentially prevent diabetes.
Landmark study from Otago clarifies brain's role in fertility control
Friday 10 November 2017
Crucial new information about how the brain controls fertility has been unlocked by University of Otago researchers, with their findings just published in prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).
Researcher Profile - Associate Professor Greg Anderson
Friday 27 October 2017
Associate Professor Greg Anderson has an eye on most aspects of neuroendocrinology. His work started with fertility, in understanding how the neurons that drive fertility are impacted by other factors; this led him to metabolism and eventually to stress.
Award winning student talks stress and success
Wednesday 25 October 2017
Julia Gouws has won both the BMS dean's prize for best summer scholarship report, and OMSRS summer student speaker award. How did she do it?
Two HRC Project Grants awarded to Professor Allan Herbison
Wednesday 25 October 2017
Congratulations to Professor Allan Herbison who is the recipient of two Health Research Council of NZ (HRC) Project Grants totalling almost $2.6 million.
Both projects provide 3-years of funding.
Professor Colin Brown awarded Mortyn Jones Memorial Medal
Tuesday 24 October 2017
Prof Brown has been awarded the 2017 Mortyn Jones Memorial Medal, which is awarded annually by the BSN.
Triennial Medal awarded to Professor Colin Brown
Monday 23 October 2017
Congratulations to Colin who as been chosen by the Physiological Society of NZ (PSNZ) to be the recipient of the NZ Triennial Medal.
PhD student wins two awards at Queenstown Research Week
Sunday 22 October 2017
Congratulations to Mauro Silva, PhD student in the Department of Physiology. Mauro is supervised by Dr Rebecca Campbell.
Lactation hormone also helps a mother’s brain: Otago research
Tuesday 26 September 2017
The same hormone that stimulates milk production for lactation, also acts in the brain to help establish the nurturing link between mother and baby, University of Otago researchers have revealed for the first time.
Summer student wins Dean's prize
Friday 28 April 2017
Julia Gouws (Supervisor Karl Iremonger) has been awarded the BMS Dean’s Prize for the best Summer Scholarship Report for 2016/17. There were almost 50 reports to consider so this is a significant achievement, congratulations Julia.
South Island Cycle Challenge taken up by CNE
Monday 27 February 2017
CNE members took up the challenge from the Physiology Department of Otago University to “Test your team's heart and 'cycle' around
the South Island of New Zealand”
…and when they say ‘cycle’ they’re talking just 10 minutes on an exercise bike—easy!
New publication is editor's choice
Friday 24 February 2017
In February 2017 we congratulated Dr Xander Seymour on the publication of his paper ‘Development of an excitatory kisspeptin projection to the oxytocin system in late pregnancy'.
PhD candidate produces exceptional thesis
Friday 16 December 2016
Congratulations to Papi Gustafson who has had her doctoral thesis placed on the Health Sciences Divisional List of Exceptional Theses.
Major Marsden funding success for CNE researchers
Monday 7 November 2016
The latest Royal Society of NZ Marsden Fund round has awarded 3-year project grants to four CNE researchers. Congratulations to Professor Allan Herbison, Professor David Grattan, Dr Alex Tups, and Professor Colin Brown.
Professor Colin Brown Inaugural Professorial Lecture
Tuesday 11 October 2016
Professor Colin Brown gave an engaging and entertaining Inaugural Professorial Lecture spanning his career investigating oxytocin neurons.
The Centre for Neuroendocrinology PhD prize winner for 2016 is Mauro Silva
Thursday 30 June 2016
Congratulations to Mauro Silva (supervisor Dr Rebecca Campbell) who was awarded the CNE PhD Prize on 28th June.
Research milestone for Professor
Tuesday 7 June 2016
With his most recent publication (1 June 2016), Professor Allan Herbison, Department of Physiology, has reached the very significant landmark of 200 peer-reviewed journal article publications.
Hormone’s effect on neurons linked to polycystic ovarian syndrome
Wednesday 13 January 2016
University of Otago researchers are part of an international team of scientists who have discovered how anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) may act in the brain to cause polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) symptoms.
Otago researchers sequence kuri dog genomes
Thursday 8 October 2015
The genetic heritage of New Zealand’s first dog, the now extinct kurī, is being unravelled by University of Otago scientists using state-of-the-art ancient DNA analysis.
