Upcoming events hosted by or involving Genetics Otago will be listed here. Please check back regularly for updates. A calendar of events that may be of interest to our members can be found at the bottom of this page and in the sidebar of other pages on this site, please note that this includes events hosted outside of Genetics Otago.
GO Annual Symposium – New Date Confirmed!
As usual, the Symposium will highlight the fantastic research being done by GO members from around the country through presentations, posters and awards. We are aware that this date clashes with a couple of other conferences happening in NZ and we apologise if this means you are unable to attend.
Date: Thursday, 20th February 2025
Time: 9:00 am – 5:00 pm
Venue: TBC
Programme
A draft programme will be available here soon.
Registration
Registration for this event is now open via the button below. If you had already registered for the event scheduled for December we ask you to please register again so that we have accurate numbers for catering. If you made a payment at that time, this should have been refunded to you – please contact us if you don’t think this has been processed.
Registration will remain open until Monday the 3rd of February, however we hope that by opening now, prior to end of year budget cut-offs, you maybe able to charge the registration fee to any surplus in your 2024 University accounts.
Registration Fee
Due to budget constraints, we will be charging a $50 per person registration fee for all attendees to subsidise the costs associated with the Symposium. We have received confirmation that this registration fee can be paid from S accounts, and if you are in a position to make a donation on top of this fee, we would gladly receive it. However, we do not want the payment to be a barrier to attendance, so if you are not in a position to make a payment, please contact us go@otago.ac.nz.
Payment Methods
Payments from an S account (or other University account) can be journaled to Genetics Otago account GL.10.LH.A14.2541 via your finance associate. Please include the surname(s) of the registrants that the payment covers in the narration.
If you need to make payment using funds from outside the University this can be arranged via the Cashier’s Office. Please contact us for details (go@otago.ac.nz).
Awards
The Annual Genetics Otago Awards including The Genetics Otago Award, Outstanding Mentor Awards, Student Supervisor Award, Publication Awards, Poster Awards and Science Communication Prize will be presented at the conclusion of the Symposium and nominations for these are now open.
All award nominations should be submitted by email to go@otago.ac.nz.
Please note: Award nominations are now open until Monday 3rd February at 5pm.
Full details of the awards can be found here: Award Details.
Calendar of Events
The below is a calendar of events hosted by GO as well as events hosted by others that may be of interest to our members. If you have an event you would like us to include please contact us here.
This entertaining event gives thesis students the chance to present their research to a large audience while competing for a number of generous prizes, with the overall University of Otago Doctoral winner going on to participate in the online Asia-Pacific 3MT® final. We also have the opportunity to send the best Master’s contestant to represent the University in the online New Zealand Masters 3MT® National Inter-University Challenge.
The competition is open to both thesis Master’s and Doctoral students, who must communicate their research in no more than three minutes, with the help of only one static slide, with the presentation aimed at a non-specialist audience – see below for more on eligibility and rules.
At this stage the local 2021 University of Otago competition will be held in person, but arrangements are being made to revert to an online competition if necessary.
Entries close Friday 25 June
Eligibility
Active PhD and Professional Doctorate candidates who have successfully passed their confirmation milestone (including candidates whose thesis is under examination, but not graduates) by the date of their first presentation are eligible to participate in all levels of the 3MT® competition. The University of Otago overall winner will be entered in the Asia-Pacific 3MT® final. Pre-confirmation PhD candidates who are active in programme are eligible to participate in heats, but cannot advance to the University of Otago Grand Final.
Master’s thesis (90 points of research or more) candidates who are active in programme (including candidates whose thesis is under examination, but not graduates) are eligible to participate in all levels of the 3MT® competition. The overall winner will be entered in the New Zealand Masters 3MT® National Inter-University Challenge.
Competition timeline
- Monday 28 June 1.30pm
University of Otago Christchurch 3MT® competition, Beaven Lecture Theatre, Christchurch campus. - Tuesday 29 June 1pm
University of Otago Wellington 3MT® competition, Small Lecture Theatre, Wellington campus.
Note: the Christchurch and Wellington competitions feed into the Health Sciences Divisional heat, other Division candidates located in Christchurch/Wellington can present at these events and be judged as part of their Divisional heat.
- Tuesday 6 July 10am
Humanities Division 3MT® heat, Moot Court, Richardson Building, Dunedin campus. - Wednesday 7 July 2pm
Health Sciences Division 3MT® heat, Barnett Lecture Theatre, Dunedin Hospital. - Thursday 8 July 10am
Commerce Division 3MT® heat, Otago Business School Lecture Room 1.17, Dunedin campus. - Friday 9 July 10am
Sciences Division 3MT® heat, Mellor Laboratories Seminar Room 2.02, Dunedin campus.
Heat winners progress to the Grand Final (see below).
- Thursday 5 August 5pm
University of Otago 3MT® grand final, venue to be confirmed.
Grand Final winners progress to further national/international competitions:
- Master’s, Tuesday 31 August.
- Doctoral, September/October.
Competition rules
The University of Otago 3MT® competition follows the official rules of the founder, the University of Queensland.
Have a look at past years’ events on our archive page.
Have you heard about flow cytometry but aren’t yet confident enough to use it? Are you a flow cytometry wizard but are unsure why all the kids are talking about spectral cytometry? Then this is the crash course for you. Kate Pilkington from Cytek Biosciences will be visiting the university to give 4 talks over 2 days. See the Itinerary below.
Monday 12th July – 10:30am – 12:00pm – Introduction to Flow Cytometry
Monday 12th July – 3:30pm – 4:30pm – Panel Design Workshop
Tuesday 13th July – 9:30am – 11:00am – Spectral Cytometry
Tuesday 13th July – 1:00pm – 2:30pm – Flow Cytometry Best Practices (Including Reference control use)
Tuesday 13th July – 2:30pm – 3:00pm – Otago Flow Cytometry Unit updates
All talks and workshops will take place in room 208, second floor microbiology and immunology building.
Please register using the link below. Registration Essential.
See you there,
The OMNI Flow Cytometry TeamFlow Cytometry Crash Course
Bioethics Seminar
Trustworthy Governance of Health and Genomic Data: Lessons from Singapore
Angela Ballantyne
Associate Professor of Bioethics
Department of Primary Health Care and General Practice, University of Otago (Wellington)
In this presentation I will report the preliminary findings from three connected studies on public attitudes to data-sharing and precision medicine in Singapore: seven focus groups with 62 participants, conducted in three languages (English, Mandarin and Malay); a household survey in 2020 with 1,000 Singaporeans to assess public preferences on sharing health-related data for precision medicine; and a four-day citizens’ jury to deliberate on sharing data with comical companies. This research is important because much of the existing literature on public attitudes to PM and data sharing comes from Europe and North America. Across our three studies, four ethical values emerged as the central considerations for ethical and trusted health data use in Singapore: public interests, fairness, accountability and transparency. In all three studies, consent was not a determinative factor for public trust or support of data sharing. While participants generally thought the potential benefits of data sharing outweighed the risks, they were cognizant of various risks including data leaks, data misuse, privacy breaches, misdiagnosis and threats to the doctor-patient relationship (due to an increasingly data-driven approach), and group harms such as stigmatization, discrimination, loss of access to medical care. In this presentation, I will draw on our empirical findings and propose recommendations for trustworthy data governance in Singapore and consider how these lessons compare to the New Zealand context.
Room 119, Bioethics Seminar Room 71 Frederick Street, Dunedin
Video linked:
To secure the booking for this seminar video link in Christchurch and Wellington, please register your name, subject and date of the seminar for attendance:
Wellington School of Medicine Room C31 Contact: Videoconferencing University of Otago Wellington avvcsupport.uow@otago.ac.nz or University of Otago Christchurch Room 7.11 Contact: av.uoc@otago.ac.nz
Please note: if there is no registration (for northern campuses) by the Thursday prior to the advertised seminar, the booking for that campus venue will be terminated.
Dunedin attendees do not need to register
Department of Botany Seminars—Semester Two 2021
Wednesdays at 12 noon in the Physical Education Building, 55 Union St West, room 2.13 (unless otherwise stated please see schedule below).
For those who cannot attend in person, you are welcome to join via the Zoom link below: https://otago.zoom.us/j/94239463064?pwd=d051YWFwdVB1bi9FSzBjYzkwNWJBUT09 Password: 807740
Consider your career prospects with a PhD
Course Duration: 2 Hours
Platform: Face-to-face
Overview: Introducing the Career LEAN Canvas to provide a structure for planning your career.
Contents:
Understanding yourself and your options are the basis of starting to consider your career development. This workshop will focus on practical ways to enhance your future options. Bring your questions and career problems to be solved.
The workshop will be facilitated by Yvonne Gaut, Career Development Centre.
https://corpapp.otago.ac.nz/training/hedc/course/16754/date/202105/
Feeling like there are too many statistics programs and/or not sure which one (or ones) would be best for you? Come along to this seminar to learn about the software biostatisticians work with, find out why we use certain programs and for what, and discover sources of information so you can learn more about the software best for you and your research.
Presented by: Andrew Gray, Senior Research Fellow, Biostatistics Centre
The School is delighted to announce the 2021 BMS Postgraduate Symposium will be held on Wednesday 28th July 2021.
Venue: The Terrace Lounge, 1st Floor, Union Building
Registration and Abstract submissions now open!
A flyer for display and registration form are attached – further speaker information to follow.
2021 BMS PGS Registration Form
We look forward to receiving your entries!
Entry deadline: 30th June 2021 to: bmsadmin@otago.ac.nz
Department of Botany Seminars—Semester Two 2021
Wednesdays at 12 noon in the Physical Education Building, 55 Union St West, room 2.13 (unless otherwise stated please see schedule below).
For those who cannot attend in person, you are welcome to join via the Zoom link below: https://otago.zoom.us/j/94239463064?pwd=d051YWFwdVB1bi9FSzBjYzkwNWJBUT09 Password: 807740
Chiasma’s flagship event of the year, SYNAPSE, brings you the opportunity to connect with science and technology employers!
The theme for SYNAPSE 2021 is ADAPT – A fast-paced future!
This year’s synapse is all about adapting to new technologies, innovative ideas, and collaborations.
Synapse will include a keynote speaker, a panel discussion, and an expo. In the expo portion, STEM-related companies will hold booths that interested students can approach, as a networking opportunity.
Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments and nibbles while networking with industry professionals.
The event is FREE but registration is essential so click the button below to register. We can’t wait for you to join us for another year at Synapse!
Speakers, panellists and booth holders will be announced via social media in the weeks prior to the event (https://www.facebook.com/chiasmadunedin).
Synapse 2021 is proudly sponsored by Pacific Edge and Genetics Otago.
Please find attached the Bioethics Seminar poster for next Monday – 2 August 2021, at 1-1:50pm – presented by Dr Phillip Wilcox, titled, “Confessions of an Accidental (Māori) Bioethicist.”
Bioethics Seminar Poster – Dr Phillip Wilcox – 2 August 2021
For those who wish to attend in person, please come to the Bioethics Seminar Room (Room 119), Bioethics Centre (Level 1, 71 Frederick Street, Dunedin 9016).
For those who cannot attend in person, you are welcome to join via the ZOOM link below:
Meeting ID: https://otago.zoom.us/j/922351556
Password: 595584
To those joining online, we ask that you please mute yourself upon arrival to avoid accidental interruptions.
Video linked:
To secure the booking for this seminar video link (northern campuses), please register your name, subject and date of the seminar for attendance:
University of Otago, Wellington Room C.31 Contact: avvcsupport.uow@otago.ac.nz
University of Otago Christchurch Room 7.11 Contact: av.uoc@otago.ac.nz
Please note: if there is no registration (for northern campuses) by the Thursday prior to the advertised seminar, the booking currently in place will be terminated.
Dunedin attendees do not need to register.
