Pūranga karere
Thursday 14 October 2021
University of Otago researchers are behind a major scientific breakthrough which could lead to elimination of the world’s biggest infectious diseases killer, tuberculosis (TB).
Thursday 27 August 2020
The Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, University of Otago and Victoria University of Wellington will help lead efforts to secure a COVID-19 vaccine for New Zealand as part of the newly established Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand – Ohu Kaupare Huaketo.
Thursday 2 May 2019
The Webster Centre will be sponsoring the Australasian Virology Society's tenth meeting, 2 to 5 December 2019, in Queenstown.
Thursday 2 May 2019
The Webster Centre presents the 2019 QMB satellite symposium: Infectious Diseases and Membrane Proteins, on 1 and 2 September, as part of Queenstown Research Week.
Friday 22 March 2019
Following an extensive international search, Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu has been appointed as the second holder of the Webster Family Chair in Viral Pathogenesis in the University of Otago’s Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Biomedical Sciences.
Wednesday 10 October 2018
The Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases has awarded three conference attendance scholarships to young researchers to attend 'Microbes and Molecules' in November 2018.
Thursday 4 October 2018
At the 2018 Otago Spotlight Series: Infectious Disease Research forum held in Wellington, four of the Webster Centre's leading researchers presented their work. Recordings of their presentations are now available.
Tuesday 25 September 2018
Chaffer Fellow, Dr Kelly Rogers, will deliver lectures on advanced microscopy techniques, a research seminar about her latest work, and a workshop on image analysis, to staff and students at the University of Otago.
Thursday 13 September 2018
Brin Ryder, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, won the Otago Spotlight student poster competition. As one of five finalists he presented his work, on early immune response, to a large audience at the Infectious Disease research forum in Wellington, and gained first place from the judges.
Wednesday 5 September 2018
Flu Hunter is Robert G Webster’s gripping, first-person account of the tenacious scientific detective work involved in revealing the secrets of this killer virus.
Thursday 30 August 2018
The Ministry of Health is looking for volunteers to help track influenza. People who live in New Zealand who have easy access to email on a weekly basis are being invited to help .
Wednesday 4 April 2018
Experts were asked by SMC to comment on research regarding a new group of antibiotic compounds able to kill particular cells of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
Wednesday 28 March 2018
Webster Centre member, Professor Kurt Krause, received Explorer Grant funding from the Health Research Council to investigate smallpox protein and how they can be used to treat human inflammation.
Thursday 22 March 2018
As World Tuberculosis Day looms on 24 March, one of the University of Otago’s latest Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellows, Dr Htin Lin Aung, is building relationships to help combat the top infectious disease killer in the world.
Saturday 10 March 2018
Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases' members appear in ODT newspaper Cover Story on 'Relapse - why we're under attack'.
Tuesday 20 February 2018
University of Otago researchers have helped uncover how New Zealand glowworms produce their glow.
Tuesday 13 February 2018
Urgent and proactive action is needed to protect young people from the current mumps outbreak in New Zealand, says Dr Ayesha Verrall, an infectious diseases physician and researcher at the University of Otago, Wellington.
Sunday 7 January 2018
Professor Kurt Krause, member of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, appeared in the NZ Herald stating contact precautions were effective and essential because many pathogenic bacteria are spread by contact – touching a surface with the bacteria on it and then touching your face or food. Contact isolation was not particularly harsh on patients, whereas airborne isolation could be very difficult for a patient because they can feel quite cut off.
Saturday 18 November 2017
Dr James Ussher, co-convenor of the Australasian Society of Infectious Disease New Zealand Annual Scientific Conference, met with Ministry of Health representatives backed by the Ministry for Primary Industries, teamed up with infectious disease specialists to tackle this "emerging threat globally".
Thursday 16 November 2017
Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases Members, Professor Vernon Ward (Dean of School of Biomedical Sciences) and Professor Kurt Krause (Department of Biochemistry), were awarded MBIE 2017 funding for their Smart Idea Project.
Wednesday 8 November 2017
Dr Michael Knapp, Department of Anatomy, and Professor Greg Cook, Webster Centre Steering Committee member, University Otago, were awarded $920,000 MBIE 2017 funding for "TB or not TB - examining the origin and evolution of tuberculosis in the pre-European Pacific".
Wednesday 25 October 2017
The One Health Aotearoa Symposium was held 13 – 14 December 2017 at Wellington, NZ.
Thursday 19 October 2017
A world-leading team of microbiologists, led by Professor Greg Cook whose work on a novel way to fight TB infections, has been selected as the recipient of the University of Otago's latest Research Group Award.
Thursday 14 September 2017
The biennial Queenstown Molecular Biology/Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases Symposium will be held 7 – 8 September, Queenstown, New Zealand. Read more for speakers covering sessions on microbial pathogen genomes, infection and immunity, tuberculosis, drug discovery and novel therapeutics and vaccines, GAS and viral pathogenesis.
Wednesday 13 September 2017
Congratulations to Webster Centre Steering Committee member, Professor Kurt Krause, who received Catalyst Seeding funding from the RSNZ to target membrane proteins in mycobacteria to cure tuberculosis.
Tuesday 15 August 2017
Professor Krause chaired a session at the International Union of Cyrstallography Conference at Hyderabad, India on 21 – 29 August 2017 and gave a talk on enzymes involved in proline biosynthesis.
Monday 7 August 2017
Webster Centre Steering Committee member, Professor Iain Lamont, will be attending the 16th International Conference on Pseudomonas to be held 5 – 9 September 2017 at Liverpool, England.
Monday 31 July 2017
An innovative approach in drug discovery in combating one of the world’s greatest health scourges – tuberculosis (TB) – is being pioneered by an international research group that has Otago microbiologists as key leading members.
Thursday 6 July 2017
This recognises an outstanding record of research, and consists of a grant to assist the group in hosting a one-day symposium to showcase their research, where the award will be formally presented.
Friday 30 June 2017
Webster Centre Committee member, Professor Iain Lamont, receives HRC funding to unmask genes for antibiotic resistance in a superbug.
Friday 30 June 2017
Professor Greg Cook and Dr Adam Heikal appear in DairyNews to discuss how our armoury of antimicrobials has been eroded and the vision of developing narrow spectrum agents that specifically target bad bacteria.
Tuesday 6 June 2017
Professor Andrew Mercer, Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases answers an "Ask a Scientist" bacteria/virus question in the Otago Daily Times.
Tuesday 30 May 2017
Profesor Greg Cook gave a lively address to a large group of budding social scientists and microbiologists on 31 May 2017.
Tuesday 30 May 2017
Webster Centre members feature in a recent ODT article outlining the good news and bad news around our microbes and us.
Friday 19 May 2017
The Royal Society Te Apãrangi has published a summary of evidence on 'Antimicrobial resistance - Implications for New Zealanders', along with a short video summarising the key points.
Tuesday 9 May 2017
Webster Centre is proud to be part of the successful bid by One Health Aotearoa (OHA) to be a University of Otago flagship research centre.
Monday 8 May 2017
Webster Centre Director, Professor Andy Mercer, was recently appointed as Deputy Chair of the Health Research Council (HRC) of New Zealand.
Wednesday 3 May 2017
Webster Centre members, Professor Sarah Hook, Dr James Ussher and Dr Jo Kirman, along with Dr Andrea Vernall, were part of a team who recently received Health Research Council funding to develop a faster way to detect antibiotic resistance.
Friday 28 April 2017
Professor Kurt Krause features in the Listener magazine article "Antibiotic Emergency" by Sally Blundell and the NZ Medical Journal recommends establishing a national response plan to address a "clear and present danger" to antimicrobial resistance.
Thursday 20 April 2017
Professor Greg Cook appears in Dairy News 'Mastitis treatment needs major overhaul'
Thursday 13 April 2017
Alumnus Professor Robert Webster is interviewed in issue 44 of the University of Otago Magazine regarding his 'Influenzial' career.
Thursday 13 April 2017
Professor Kurt Krause appears in Issue 44 of the University of Otago Magazine regarding 'Infectious Research'.
Monday 21 November 2016
Professor Kurt Krause, Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, describes five things that can be done to help combat antimicrobial resistance.
Thursday 10 November 2016
Listen to Professor Robert Webster's public lecture, Dunedin, New Zealand "What New Zealanders need to know about bird flu: from the mutton bird to a cure for influenza".
Wednesday 21 September 2016
Professor Kurt Krause, Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, appeared on Radio New Zealand to discuss the global crisis in anti–microbial resistance. During the interview he pointed out the need for us to carefully use our currently available antibiotics as well as support research into developing new anti-microbial therapies.
![Robert and Marjorie Webster visit 2012 tn[1]](/cs/groups/public/@webster/documents/webcontent/otago621695.jpg)
Tuesday 13 September 2016
Professor Robert Webster, a world renowned virologist and pioneer researcher in influenza, was interviewed by Kathryn Ryan, Radio New Zealand on Tuesday, 13 September 2016 on fighting Zika and other viruses.
Wednesday 7 September 2016
The Webster Centre, which is completing its 10th year working in support of infectious diseases research in New Zealand, proudly announces that we sponsored a lecture tour in four locations - Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, by our namesake, Professor Robert Webster. Professor Webster is a pioneering researcher in influenza and an early proponent of the modern concept of "One Health".
Wednesday 7 September 2016
Professor Kurt Krause, Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, appears in the Otago Daily Times newspaper on Wednesday, 7 September 2016 in an article entitled "US ban on antibacterial products finds support".
Friday 15 July 2016
Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases Steering Committee member, Professor Greg Cook, appears in the NZ Herald on 13 July 2016 commenting on research that finds medicine could be repurposed against drug resistant strain with promise for Third World.
Wednesday 13 July 2016
Prof Kurt Krause (Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases), along with other Webster members, Prof Greg Cook and Dr James Ussher (Department of Microbiology & Immunology), Prof Philip Hill and Prof John Crump (Co-Directors of Centre for International Health), and Dr Brendan Arnold (Southern District Health Board) looked at some of the current issues facing us from a local, national, and international perspective, whether it was the current concern over measles or the potential impact of Zika or some of the burning questions on infectious diseases.
Wednesday 13 July 2016
Susie Warring was the winner of the 2016 Webster Centre sponsored photograph from the OSMS 2016 Photo Competition.
Thursday 26 May 2016
Recent research from the laboratory of the Director, Professor Kurt Krause, has appeared on the cover of the Biochemical Journal. This work involved Professor Krause, Sinothai Poen, a recent PhD graduate, Yoshio Nakatani, Helen K Opel-Reading, Mortiz Lassé, Renwick D J Dobson and was titled "Exploring the Structure of Glutamate Racemase from Mycobacterium tuberculosis as a Template for Anti-mycobacterial Drug Discovery".
Tuesday 5 April 2016
Webster Centre steering committee members, Greg Cook and Debbie Williamson, were featured in a documentary appearing on Prime on 5 April 2016. The documentary focused on the dangers of current antibiotic resistance and the need for the development of new antibiotics for the future as well as the best way to preserve current treatment options.
Thursday 17 March 2016
Professor Philip Hill's findings on monitoring a population of 200,000 people in The Gambia, West Africa, before and after the introduction of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine appear in the prestigious Lancet Infectious Diseases.
Friday 26 February 2016
A new protein crystallography tool available to Otago researchers will help accelerate research into drug and vaccine design.
Thursday 18 February 2016
Details of the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases Annual Scientific Meeting which were held at Launceston, Australia 20 - 23 April 2016
Thursday 4 February 2016
Professor Greg Cook appeared as a co-author in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describing his work on volcanic bacteria entitled "Persistence of the dominant soil phylum Acidobacteria by trace gas scavenging".
Sunday 10 January 2016
In January 2016 Professor Kurt Krause commented on New Zealand’s preparation for pandemic influenza by the Ministry of Health tendering for 300,000 doses of vaccine for H5N1, one prominent strain of bird flu. He acknowledged that it is fair to be concerned about whether the correct strain was chosen because no-one knows for sure which bird flu strain, if any, will cause widespread human infection. However the H5N1 vaccine is probably the best bet we have right now. Another big issue was how quickly countries could get hold of enough vaccinations for an entire population during a pandemic.
Friday 13 November 2015
OIHRN Meeting
The 8th annual OIHRN meeting was held at St Margaret's College at Dunedin on 11 - 12 November 2015. Steering committee members, Dr Deborah Wililamson, presented on "Poultry, Potions and Public Health: infectious diseases genomics in NZ and beyond” and Professor Philip Hill presented on “The Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccines in the Gambia, West Africa”. The Webster Centre was pleased to serve as a sponsor for this event.
Saturday 5 September 2015
On Monday, 31 August 2015, a free Public Outreach Question It meeting "Ebola and Beyond - How Bugs Kill Us" was held in the Queenstown Memorial Centre from 12 - 1pm. Infectious disease researchers, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Auckland University; Professors Kurt Krause, Otago University and Nigel French, Massey University were panel members in a discussion about the growing global problem of these deadly bugs and how to maximise your chances against them.
Saturday 15 August 2015
Professor Greg Cook and Dr Htin Lin Aung awarded $450,000 for Tb research.
Saturday 21 March 2015
In conjunction with the Australasian Society of Infectious Diseases Annual Scientific Meeting, this workshop was held on Friday 20 March 2015, Rendezvous Hotel, Auckland.
Friday 20 March 2015
Webster Centre member, Deborah Williamson, commented on the role of topical antibiotics causing Staphylococcus aureus resistance in NZ.
Tuesday 27 January 2015
Professor Kurt Krause responds to an opinion about industry's role in growing antibiotic resistance, in an interview with Kathryn Ryan on Radio NZ.
Monday 26 January 2015
Professor Steve Chambers comments on the recorded spike in infectious diseases in the south.
Tuesday 25 November 2014
Professor Michael Baker discusses a new paper about the large public health impact of influenza in New Zealand.
Wednesday 19 November 2014
Dr Ayesha Verrall is investigating natural immunity to TB as part of her doctoral thesis. She is interviewed by the Otago Daily Times about her work.
Wednesday 29 October 2014
Professor Michael Baker calls on the NZ Government to send health workers to Ebola affected areas of West Africa as part of a WHO effort.
Tuesday 23 September 2014
Andrew Highton PhD, past winner of a Webster Centre Travel Award, has received a prestigious Nuffield Scholarship to Oxford University.
Monday 15 September 2014
Professor Michael Baker, a Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases research leader, comments on the health risks of poor housing.
Wednesday 10 September 2014
Professor Frank Griffin is interviewed about the impact of infectious disease in NZ's farming sector, particularly Johne's disease.
Monday 1 September 2014
Professor Michael Baker is leading an investigation into the causes of rheumatic fever.
Saturday 23 August 2014
Professor Kurt Krause is interviewed the the NZ Listener about New Zealand's ability to protect itself from Ebola.
Tuesday 5 August 2014
Professor Greg Cook received the 2014 Distinguished Research Medal for his substantial contribution to microbial research.
Tuesday 13 May 2014
Webster Centre principal investigator Professor Greg Cook attracts a $150K Explorer grant for antibiotic resistance research.
Saturday 3 May 2014
Professor Kurt Krause, Director of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, suggests that the post-antibiotic era may create renewed interest in alternative remedies.
Thursday 1 May 2014
Resistance to antibiotics is no longer a prediction for the future according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), which claims it is happening now in every region of the world.
Thursday 3 April 2014
Professor Michael Baker, of the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases, expresses concern about alternatives offered in place of flu vaccination.
Wednesday 27 November 2013
The prestigious Liley Medal 2013 was presented to Professor Michael Baker in recognition of his landmark 2012 study of infectious diseases and rising inequalities in NZ.
Wednesday 20 November 2013
Professor Kurt Krause is interviewed on the end of antibiotics and the threat of superbugs.
Friday 1 November 2013
Marsden Grant success for Professor Greg Cook for infectious disease research into targets for drug and vaccine development against tuberculosis.
Friday 1 November 2013
This project will define a new mechanism by which viruses evade cellular defences and shine new light on the activities of BAF, an essential cellular factor.
Monday 3 December 2012
Professor Philip Hill, who has an extensive record in TB research in developing countries, will be part of a multi-disciplinary consortium exploring the link between TB and diabetes.
Monday 12 September 2011
Following the outbreak in Europe, Infectious Diseases experts discuss New Zealand's E.coli risk, on TVNZ programme Close Up.
Monday 16 August 2010
International health researcher, Professor Philip Hill, is part of a consortium that has successfully used genome scanning to identify a gene associated with increased susceptibility to tuberculosis (TB) in African populations.
Friday 21 May 2010
Professor Iain Lamont talks to ONE News about the world's first synthetic living cell.
Monday 12 April 2010
Professor Kurt Krause in interviewed on ONE News about the risk of a drug-resistant superbug travelling to New Zealand.
Monday 4 May 2009
University of Otago Associate Professor Michael Baker says, in an Otago Daily Times report, that the swine flu outbreak is providing a major test of new international health regulations.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Professor Kurt Krause answers common questions about the drug Tamiflu, and how it can be best utilised against swine flu, on TVNZ's Breakfast programme.
Monday 27 April 2009
Guest speaker, Dr Clifton Barry, at the Webster Centre for Infectious Diseases Symposium, expressed his concern about the lack of resources to address Tb.
Friday 17 April 2009
Experts in infectious disease research will converge on the University of Otago next week for a two-day gathering to discuss the latest developments in the field.
