Media Release Archive
- 2008
Medical research boosted by Lotteries grants
10 December 2008
The University of Otago,
Christchurch has received more than $700,000 in grants from the Lottery
Grants Board for health research in 2009.
The grants for new or ongoing health research are for eight projects
and one equipment grant ranging from heart disease research, to early
detection of kidney failure, to the effectiveness of psychotherapies
for treatment of depression.
Postgraduate students celebrate success in health sciences
10 December 2008
This academic year 220 postgraduate students from the University of Otago,
Christchurch have received a Certificate, Diploma, Masters or PhD in
Health Sciences, taking a further step in their careers as health professionals.
How white blood cells beat bacterial infection with gas
7 December 2008
Poisonous gas was used as a destructive weapon in World War 1, but
when it comes to the human body and fighting invading bacteria, it
appears
that gas might be a key factor in how we control infection.
University of Otago Medical School receives highest accreditation standard
5 December 2008
The Australian Medical Council (AMC)
has awarded the University of Otago’s
Faculty of Medicine the maximum period of accreditation possible.
Study examines
link between abortion and mental health
01 Decemberr 2008
Women who have an abortion face a 30% increase in the risk of developing common
mental health problems such as depression and anxiety, according to a new study
from the University of Otago, Christchurch.
Otago Academics Promoted to Professor
28 November 2008
Nine University of Otago academics are to be promoted to full professorships.
Dosing for common rheumatoid arthritis drug may be too slow
7 November 2008
Researchers at the University of Otago Christchurch have
completed a study which indicates that current approaches for treating
rheumatoid
arthritis may be too slow to control the onset of joint damage associated
with the disease.
Degree stepping-stone to career in
medical research
30 October 2008
The University of Otago, Christchurch is offering a new postgraduate
Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences with Honours in 2009 with an emphasis
on ‘hands-on’ scientific research. The new degree will
provide an ideal platform for students interested in continuing onto
Ph.D. study
and a career in medical research.
Defective gene puts middle aged males at risk
29 October 2008
Heart disease and heart attacks are the main 'killers' in New
Zealand, with some 30,000 people being admitted to hospitals every
year with heart problems. Now researchers at the University of Otago
Christchurch have identified a gene variant which is a key indicator
of survivability after angina or heart attack, and which may guide
improved treatment for the most vulnerable patients.
Blood infection research produces surprise results
10 October 2008
A research nurse specialist completing her Masters in Health Sciences
at the University of Otago, Christchurch has shown that using ethanol
as a ‘disinfectant’ in intravenous catheters (plastic tubes
fixed into patients’ veins for weeks or months in order to give
drugs or blood) reduces blood stream infection rates in immune-suppressed
patients.
Christchurch health researchers win major grants
23 September 2008
University of Otago, Christchurch health researchers have received
two substantial grants under the Marsden Fund round announced today by
the Royal Society of New Zealand. The University of Otago received the
highest proportion of Marsden Fund grants of all New Zealand Universities
(25.8%).
Cardiac research leader honoured by University
5 September 2008
World-leading cardiovascular researcher Professor Mark Richards is this
year’s
recipient of the University of Otago’s highest research honour,
the Distinguished
Research Medal.
How to really
lose weight without a crash diet
21 August 2008
Finally, a sane and accessible book about how to lose weight!
“ Real Weight Loss: a practical guide
to changing your lifestyle and achieving long-term weight loss.”
Going against the modern trend of promoting frantic,
quick-fix pseudo-solutions to being overweight, Doug Sellman, Professor
of Psychiatry and Addiction Medicine at the University of Otago Christchurch
has written a practical and personal approach to really losing weight,
and keeping it off long term.
Health impacts
of winter air pollution
11 August 2008
Serious air pollution in Christchurch, mainly from wood smoke,
does have an impact on the respiratory health of young people, but
the immediate effect is not major according to new research by the
University of Otago, Christchurch.
New Zealand medical research funding dawdles behind rest of world
8 August 2008
Health research funding in New Zealand is up to 12 times less than other
OECD countries, and may soon affect the health of the population.
Thick melanomas:
the problem continues
8 August 2008
The incidence of the most dangerous kind of skin cancer, thick melanoma, is
still not decreasing in New Zealand nearly 15 years after early detection strategies
were introduced to educate the public.
Historic microscopes
collection unveiled at opening of new Reception and Medical Education
Unit
7 August 2008
New reception facilities at the University of Otago, Christchurch
and a dedicated Medical Education Unit are to be officially opened
on Thursday August 7 at 4.30pm by the Dean, Professor Peter Joyce.
At the same time the largest collection of historic microscopes in
Australia and New Zealand will be publicly displayed for the first
time.
Heart research
wins major funding boost
5 June 2008
Heart research at the University of Otago, Christchurch has received
major funding in this year’s Health Research Council round
with $2.35 million being granted over the next three years.
Students experience
health and research careers on WorkChoice Day
21 May 2008
The Canterbury District Health Board and the University of Otago, Christchurch
are introducing 220 Year 12 secondary school students from local schools to a
wide range of possible health and research careers on the morning of Tuesday
May 20. The two health employers are mounting a range of displays, talks and
tours as their part in the annual nationwide WorkChoice Day
Higher
cancer mortality in Maori, Pacific people and native Hawaiians
28 April 2008
Indigenous people from New Zealand and Hawaii have higher mortality rates for
many cancers than Europeans in those countries according to a publication from
the University of Otago, Christchurch. Culturally appropriate education on screening
programmes, diet, and smoking might help reduce these mortality rates.
African ‘sniffer’ rats
used to develop TB breath test
20 March 2008
Health researchers from the University of Otago Christchurch are developing
a unique breath test for tuberculosis (TB) – a disease that continues
to kill more than two million people every year world-wide and is again
becoming more prevalent in developed countries
like New Zealand.
International
award for suicide researcher
10 March 2008
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has awarded its 2008 Research Award to
Associate Professor Annette Beautrais from the University of Otago, Christchurch in
recognition of her contributions to suicide research. It will be presented at the AFSP's
annual fundraising dinner in New York in May.
Deliberate self harm higher in female
adolescents.
26 February 2008
The Director of the Centre for Suicide Research at the University of Oxford says that
adolescent self-harm is a significant and growing problem in many developed countries,
with cases often never coming to the attention of clinicians and hospitals.
Technology and brain science
opens the door to new ways of treating mental illness
18 February 2008
A top visiting British Psychiatrist says that the treatment of mental illness is likely
to rapidly progress in the next 15 to 20 years because of improved technology and knowledge
of genetics . Professor David Nutt, University of Bristol, has recently collaborated in a
report for the UK government exploring possible new treatments for mental illness over the
next two decades.
Heart hormone crucial for
skeletal growth in the foetus, children and adolescents.
7 February 2008
Researchers at the University of Otago, Christchurch have broken new scientific ground
with discoveries regarding a previously little understood heart hormone, showing how it
is crucial for bone development and growth after birth.
Christchurch summer studentship
winners
28 January 2008
The 37 Christchurch students who completed a Summer Studentship project presented their
research findings at the end of January in the Rolleston Lecture Theatre, University of
Otago, Christchurch
Students present health
research results
24 January 2008
Students from the University of Otago, Christchurch, and other tertiary institutions,
will present the results of their medical research over the summer holidays on Friday
January 25 in the Rolleston Lecture Theatre (9.15am-3pm).
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