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Nau mai, haere mai to M膩ori fellow Dr Theresa Pankhurst as she joins the Institute

Nau mai, haere mai to M膩ori fellow Dr Theresa Pankhurst as she joins the Institute

Nau mai, haere mai to M膩ori fellow Dr Theresa Pankhurst as she joins the Institute

The Institute is delighted to offer a warm 鈥楴au mai, haere mai鈥 (welcome) to new postdoctoral fellow Dr Theresa Pankhurst, who joins the Institute as part of a unique fellowship between the Institute and the Malaghan Institute of Medical 51在线 in Wellington, New Zealand. Theresa holds the inaugural Te Urungi Churchill College By-Fellowship, which is supported by the Malaghan Institute鈥檚 M膩ori advisory group, Te Urungi (The steering paddle of the waka) M膩ori, whose role is to guide the Malaghan Institute in its work towards equitable health outcomes for M膩ori.

After completing the first year of her fellowship at the Malaghan Institute working as part of the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa New Zealand (VAANZ) 鈥 Ohu Kaupare Huaketo on a COVID-19 vaccine booster, Theresa is joining the Linterman lab in the Institute鈥檚 Immunology research programme for the next two years. This profile introduces Theresa and describes more about the aims of her research and of the fellowship in terms of improving health outcomes for M膩ori.

 

Please can you tell us a bit about your background? How did you come to study biology generally and immunology in particular?

 Ko T膩kitimu te maunga

T膩kitimu is the mountain I come from

Ko Aparima te awa

Aparima is the river I come from

Ko Uruao te waka

Uruao is the canoe my ancestors travelled on

Ko Ng膩i Tahu, Ko Ng膩ti Kahungunu, Ko Ng膩ti Porou te iwi

Ng膩i Tahu, Ng膩ti Kahungunu and Ng膩ti Porou are the tribes I descend from

Ko Ng膩i te Ruahikihiki te hap奴

Ng膩i te Ruahikihiki is the subtribe I descend from

Ko Takutai o te titi te marae

Takutai o te titi is the meeting house of my people

Kei P玫neke t膩ku k膩inga in膩ianei, no Murihiku ahau

I currently live in Wellington, but I hail from Invercargill

Ko Theresa Pankhurst t艒ku ingoa

Theresa Pankhurst is my name

The introduction above is called a Pepeha, and it is typically what you can expect from M膩ori when asked to introduce themselves. A Pepeha acknowledges whakapapa (ancestry) of M膩ori in the form of their relationship to the whenua (land) and wh膩nau (family) and specifically includes things like the mountain, river, iwi (tribe), marae (meeting house) that an individual affiliates to or belongs to, and is a way for M膩ori to communicate their ancestry between each other and more generally with other New Zealanders.

I grew up in a very small town at the bottom of Aotearoa (New Zealand) called Invercargill, and from a young age I was fascinated by science. It wasn鈥檛 until my high school years where I became more focused on biology due to some excellent teachers I had, leading me to completing a bachelor鈥檚 degree in biomedical science at Te Herenga Waka 鈥 Victoria University of Wellington. During undergraduate study I took a keen interest in the introductory immunology course. From there I continued studying at Te Herenga Waka, first a master鈥檚 degree in clinical immunology and continued onto my PhD in 2018 researching mucosal vaccination against respiratory viruses.

You hold the inaugural Te Urungi fellowship at the Malaghan Institute. Can you tell us a bit about the objectives of the fellowship? How did it come about?

Te Urungi M膩ori are an independent group of M膩ori experts who provide advice to the leadership team at the Malaghan Institute. 鈥楾e Urungi鈥 translates to 鈥楾he steering paddle鈥 of the waka (canoe), so the name symbolises the guiding role they have in our approach of equitable health outcomes for M膩ori as a result of the research and clinical activity at the Malaghan Institute. The fellowship was established to provide opportunities for early career M膩ori biomedical researchers to advance their scientific careers whilst incorporating aspects of Te Ao M膩ori (the M膩ori worldview) into the research they conduct, as well as in their personal journey as M膩ori. This could look like many different things for individual M膩ori 鈥 for me it has been about improving my Te Reo (the M膩ori language), building relationships with other M膩ori researchers and M膩ori health research facilities, and communicating my research to our communities primarily via M膩ori media networks.

What does your research project focus on, and what have been the highlights of the first year of your fellowship?

At the Malaghan Institute I am part of the (VAANZ) 鈥 Ohu Kaupare Huaketo, which is a collaborative research team between Te Herenga Waka, Malaghan Institute, University of Otago as well as other local and international collaborators. The VAANZ 鈥榯askforce鈥 was formed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 to test and manufacture COVID-19 vaccines locally for Aotearoa, subsequently building capacity for us to respond quickly to future threats of infectious disease. I joined VAANZ at its inception in 2020 when I was in the third year of my PhD on the use of mucosal vaccines against pandemic influenza. As a result, the tail end of my PhD pivoted into the COVID-19 space, and after completing my PhD I joined VAANZ as a postdoc.

Within VAANZ I work in the immunogenicity testing team, conducting pre-clinical research of receptor-binding domain (RBD)-based candidates to evaluate vaccine efficacy, safety and breadth of protection against the many forms of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

Highlights of the first year of my fellowship include; being part of a team that designed and tested a successful COVID-19 vaccine that will be heading into a phase I trial this year, giving televised interviews about both my and with our M膩ori media channels, visiting Te Urungi M膩ori members and their research institutes across Aotearoa, meeting our Prime Minister as part of the work we do in VAANZ, and finally being able to attend a graduation ceremony for my PhD and adorn a k膩kahu (M膩ori cloak) from my iwi (tribe). 

The fellowship is unique in that it integrates research with the wider context of M膩ori culture, customs and identity. Can you tell us more about that?

Absolutely! The Malaghan Institute recognises that the biomedical research we conduct needs to integrate with the wider context of Te Ao M膩ori (The M膩ori world). Not only do we have an obligation as scientists to address the issues faced by New Zealand people - including equitable health outcomes for M膩ori, but as an institute with a commitment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) we must constantly adapt and progress to meet these commitments. That, to me, is what being Te Urungi Fellow is about. Being part of the shift in how biomedical research is conducted in Aotearoa 鈥 research that honours Te Tiriti o Waitangi, M膩tauranga M膩ori (traditional M膩ori knowledge), and is inclusive of Te Reo (The M膩ori language) and Tikanga M膩ori (M膩ori customs and protocols). I believe that is the way to generate the most robust and inclusive research specific to Aotearoa, and to ultimately create a better future for all New Zealanders.

Looking ahead, can you outline the focus of your work as part of the Linterman lab here? What are you hoping to gain from your time with us?

I鈥檒l be researching germinal centre responses to mRNA vaccination and how human secondary lymphoid tissues change across one鈥檚 lifespan. So far my background has been in mouse immunology, so I am looking forward to deep-diving into the human immune system. I鈥檓 excited to join the Linterman lab and meet her team in person - as well as get to know the wider Babraham Institute and research campus.

What are you looking forward to about being in Cambridge and the UK more widely?

So many things! First of all Cambridge looks beautiful, I can鈥檛 wait to wander the streets and take in all of the history, architecture and nature. I鈥檝e never been to the UK before so I鈥檒l definitely be planning small trips where I can. My ancestors on my Dad鈥檚 side come from England so I have a few places I want to see to explore our Pankhurst ancestry. I鈥檓 also a big fan of live music and the UK definitely gets more exposure to bands compared to Aotearoa 鈥 so I鈥檒l definitely be getting amongst that as well! (I may have already secured tickets to see Beyonce in London...)

 

Image description:

Theresa Pankhurst in a laboratory at the Malaghan Institute of Medical 51在线 in Wellington, New Zealand.

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