Early Career Research Awardees making an impact

Though each of them has a very different area of expertise, the winners of the 2024 University of Otago Early Career Award's had one thing in common - they're bettering communities.

Whether it be research into the public health issues associated with drugs and alcohol, or investigating how the brain and body might incorrectly communicate to exacerbate mental health issues like anxiety, all six awardees plan to make positive change for local and global communities.

The winners were Dr Jude Ball from Department of Public Health, Dr Rose Crossin from the Department of Population Health, Dr Olivia Harrison from the Department of Psychology, Dr Nathan Kenny from the Department of Biochemistry, Dr Daniel Pletzer, Department of Microbiology & Immunology and Dr Andrew Reynolds from the Department of Medicine.

They each receive a $5,000 research grant and membership to the Otago Early Career Researcher Forum which promotes the research of early to mid-career academics at Otago and provides collaboration and networking opportunities.

Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Enterprise) Professor Richard Blaikie congratulates the winners for their contribution.

"As Chair of the selection panel I see so many high achieving Early Career researchers nominated for these awards - each one of them already making considerable contributions to their research areas and so selecting winners can be extremely challenging," Richard says.

"Ultimately, these academics stood out as they not only demonstrated themselves to be very capable researchers, but they are also showing ways in which their research will go on to have major impact in the lives of people and communities."

Dr Nathan Kenny (Department of Biochemistry, Dunedin)

Nathan moved to the University of Otago as a Rutherford Discovery Fellow about two and-a-half years ago and has quickly established a research niche at the intersection of comparative genomics and evolutionary biology, often working alongside hapori Māori.

His research focus is the molecular origins of resilience to the effects of climate change in the green-lipped mussel, Perna canaliculus.

"I am lucky to have been helped by very supportive communities - both here at Otago and around the country, that have allowed me to work alongside them on lots of intriguing research questions," Nathan says.

"This award is a reflection of their generosity in time and knowledge, and hopefully I will be able to pay them back in some way for that."

Dr Jude Ball (Department of Public Health, Wellington)

Since embarking on her doctoral studies in 2016, Dr Jude Ball has rapidly built a national and international research profile in youth public health research and has shown exceptional leadership in this field.

Her award-winning research has attracted international recognition and informed policy development and practice in Aotearoa.

She has spearheaded ground-breaking research in two areas:

The first being the documentation and investigation of a major decline in adolescent risk behaviours that occurred internationally since 2000.

Secondly, research to inform interventions to reduce youth drug harm with a particular focus on smoking, vaping and alcohol harm. Her research has a strong focus on equity, community engagement, and policy impact.

Dr Rose Crossin (Department of Population Health, Christchurch)

Rose says the support of the communities and organisations she works with is vital for her research into the public health issues associated with drugs and alcohol.

"I am so grateful to receive this award. I could not do this research without the support of those communities and organisations.

"I care deeply about the people I work with, and so this feels like recognition that drug harm is important and that even though drug use is stigmatised, these communities are valued."

Rose's work aims to quantify drug and alcohol harms, identify social and structural determinants of drug harm, and measure the impacts of drug policy. The award will provide funding for a project on preventing unintentional drug overdose, with the aim of identifying opportunities to reduce harm.

Rose will also attend the next International Society for the Study of Drug Policy conference in the United Kingdom and bring knowledge back to Aotearoa.

Dr Olivia Harrison (Department of Psychology, Christchurch)

Olivia's research as a neuroscientist based in the Department of Psychology investigates mental health with a focus on anxiety. Her work seeks to understand thecommunication - or miscommunication - between the brain and body that can act to exacerbate and perpetuate body symptoms.

Olivia completed a BSc in Neuroscience and BPhEd(Hons) in Exercise Physiology at Otago, and Doctorate in Clinical Neuroscience at the University of Oxford. She received a prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship to work in a computational psychiatry group in Zurich, then returned to Otago in 2020 as a Rutherford Discovery Research Fellow. In 2021 Olivia was awarded the L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science fellowship.

In Otago she has established two large longitudinal studies in clinical and sub-clinical anxiety populations. She also holds regular public engagement events, supported by Lotteries Health Research. Her research aims to help patients, clinicians, friends and whānauto better understand and manage anxiety.

Dr Daniel Pletzer (Department of Microbiology & Immunology, Dunedin)

"Imagine a world where clinical procedures, from routine surgeries to life-saving transplants, become too risky because there are no longer effective antibiotics to prevent infections. As daunting as it seems, this threat is rapidly becoming a reality as antibiotic-resistant pathogens continue to outpace the development of new treatments," Daniel says.

Daniel, of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is at the forefront of the global fight against antimicrobial resistance.

His work focuses on priority pathogens labelled by the World Health Organization as "the most dangerous bacteria in the world". His team explores how bacterial interactions and host dynamics create vulnerabilities that can be targeted with novel drugs. Already, they've discovered a range of small molecules, including peptides, that disarm or weaken pathogens, rendering them less capable of causing disease.

"By exploring how bacteria adapt and survive under hostile conditions, we can uncover new therapeutic targets to outsmart these pathogens," he says.