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Contact Details

Phone
(Mobile) +64 27 265 0001 (Work) +64 4 832 3076
Email
anna.ranta@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
Professor and Head of Department of Medicine (Wellington)
Department
Department of Medicine (Wellington)
Qualifications
MD PhD FRACP FAHA FAAN FWSO
Research summary
Stroke
Teaching

Undergraduate – Neurology 4th year, Rural Health, Neuropsychology, Medical Summer Students

Postgraduate – Masters and PhD students
I am interested in hearing from medical students with an interest in neurology or neurology trainees/neurologists considering Master’s or PhD studies in the field of stroke.

Memberships
Professor Ranta is the co-clinical leader for the National Stroke Network and leads the New Zealand National Stroke Registry and Stroke Data Strategy, is the President-Elect of the Australian and New Zealand Stroke Organisation, the founding and current co-chair of the South Pacific Stroke and Neurology Organisation, Past President the Neurological Association of New Zealand, and a current Board Member of the World Stroke Organization, the Asia Pacific Organisation, and Stroke Aotearoa. She is also serves as the stroke section editor for Springer Nature Neurology and Neuroscience Reports and on the editorial boards of Stroke, Neurology, and the Journal of the American Heart Association.
Clinical
Stroke neurology

Research

Professor Ranta is an academic stroke neurologist working to improve stroke prevention, care, and outcomes for people in Aotearoa New Zealand, the wider South Pacific, and globally.

Her current research focuses on translational stroke research to optimize stroke care quality and access, with a strong emphasis on addressing health inequities, especially for rural, Māori and Pacific populations. She also conducts epidemiological research involving data linkage, health economics, use of AI technology in acute stroke, and leads the NZ National Stroke Registry. Recent publications include topics such as neurology workforce, use of tenecteplace and idarucizumab in acute stroke, and pre-hospital telestroke. She also led the 2025/26 World Stroke Organisation scientific statements on Stroke and Climate change and Stroke Care in Indigenous Population.

As part of her leadership and collaboration on many large stroke research programmes she has collaborates widely across Aotearoa, Australia, South Pacific Island nations, Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas resulting in 250+ peer reviewed journal articles and conference abstracts.

She was born in Germany, trained at the University of Virginia, United States, and has lived with her husband and two daughters in Aotearoa New Zealand since 2007.

Current projects led by Professor Ranta:

  • Principal Investigator (PI) for SAIVE Brain Study exploring the utility of AI assisted acute stroke imaging in improving workflow and access to care for rural populations.
  • PI for a pragmatic community-based study assessing telestroke inside the ambulance now in establishment phase.
  • Co-PI for Reducing Ethnic and Geographic Inequity to Optimise New Zealand Stroke Care – Part II – co-designing stroke care improvement strategies with rural Māori whānau and front-line clinicians to improve stroke outcomes for rural Māori.
  • National Stroke Register optimisation including development of a virtual register planned for 2027-2030.
  • Capacity building in stroke care and research in LMIC across the South Pacific.

Publications

Huatau Jones, B., Martin, R. A., Tuuta, M., Kang, J., Ranta, S., Ingham, T., Rufa, E., Reiri, T. R., Ranta, A., the REGIONS Care II Research Group, including Keown, S., & Adams, J. (2026). Experiences of Māori after stroke in regional Aotearoa New Zealand: A qualitative study informing culturally responsive stroke Services. Kōtuitui, 21(2), e70027. doi: 10.1002/kot2.70027 Journal - Research Article

Martelletti, P., de Oliveira, A. B., Dhamija, R. K., Francis, P., Gouider, R., Guekht, A., … Ranta, A., … Wijeratne, T. (2026). Migraine, headache disorders, and brain health: Aligning advocacy with the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Journal of Headache & Pain, 27(1), 94. doi: 10.1186/s10194-026-02348-5 Journal - Research Other

Asikainen, A., Korja, M., Raj, R., Kaprio, J., Thrift, A. G., Douwes, J., … Ranta, A., … Rautalin, I. M. (2026). Case fatality of subarachnoid hemorrhage by aneurysm location: A population-based study from Finland and New Zealand. Neurology, 106(9), e214709. doi: 10.1212/wnl.0000000000214709 Journal - Research Article

Behrens, J. R., Kaffes, M., Aigner, A., Herm, J., Erdur, H., Siepmann, T., … Ranta, A., … Audebert, H. (2026). Teleneurology vs on-site neurology consultation for postadmission hospital care of stroke. JAMA Neurology, 83(6), 554-562. doi: 10.1001/jamaneurol.2026.0615 Journal - Research Article

Said, A., Khan, M., Estol, C., Wasay, M., Kameda, T., Ullberg, T., … Kang, J., Macmillan, A., Kingston, D., Stephenson, J., … Ranta, A. (2026). Stroke and climate change: A World Stroke Organization scientific statement [Review]. International Journal of Stroke. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1177/17474930261436535 Journal - Research Article

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