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Wednesday 23 November 2022 9:45am

A group of seven people standing in a row in front of a Medicines New Zealand banner. Dr Emma Wade is third from the right.
Dr Emma Wade (third from right) with members of the Medicines New Zealand board and the judging panel.

A real passion for innovation has earned Otago Research Fellow Dr Emma Wade an inaugural national award from Medicines New Zealand.

Dr Wade is a researcher with the Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, within the Dunedin School of Medicine's Department of Women's and Children's Health.

The 2022 Innovation Jump Start Award is presented to an early career researcher with a passion for innovation in medicines and vaccines. The award includes up to $30,000 to help achieve short-term research goals and provide support to achieve longer-term career aspirations.

Dr Wade says, “This award is a massive honour and will be incredibly helpful in taking my day-to-day research into a new and exciting area.

“I'm extremely grateful to Medicines New Zealand for this opportunity and for the support of my team in the Laboratory for Genomic Medicine.”

An observation made during Dr Wade's research has led to the identification of a protein with significant potential as a biological therapy to improve post-surgical healing after abdominal surgeries such as hernia repairs and caesarean sections.

If the findings of this proposed research are positive and it is feasible to develop a biological therapeutic product using this protein, it could improve outcomes for many people and save the health system money by avoiding the need for repeat surgeries.

Medicines New Zealand stated the applications received for the inaugural Innovation Jump Start Award were of an extremely high standard, with Dr Wade demonstrating a real passion for innovation and the translation of knowledge into better outcomes for patients.

Dr Wade received her award at a ceremony in Auckland on 17 November.

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