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.
Early & Mid Career Scientists and Postgraduate Students are invited to meet with Kiel before his seminar, to find out how he got to where he is today. Bielschowsky meeting room, 12-1pm (snacks included!) Please RSVP to Glen Reid (glen.reid@otago.ac.nz) as there is a limited capacity.
Interspecies electron transfer mediates energy generation in pathogen- commensal communities
Dr Kiel Hards
Department of Microbiology & Immunology University of Otago
The human microbiome is a consortia of microorganisms in and on our bodies that is often called our most underappreciated organ. In reality, the microbiome is far more complex than a single organ and issues in our microbiome can affect diverse health issues including cancer, diabetes, mental health, infections and sleep quality. Several studies have been able to describe what makes up our microbiome, defining our “good” and “bad” bacteria, but few studies have investigated how these microbes interact with each other and ourselves. Recently, it has been suggested that metabolic interactions within the microbiome may influence our ability to acquire community- and hospital-acquired infections, including those by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus agalactiae and Enterococcus faecalis. This has highlighted a process where different bacteria make and share electricity for generating energy by cellular respiration, known as interspecies electron transfer. In this talk, I will discuss recent data from my group that suggests the common probiotic Lactococcus lactis stimulates respiratory energy generation in S. agalactiae by interspecies electron transfer. This suggests that genes from other bacteria may be essential for opportunistic pathogens in vivo. By understanding the critical functions of our microbiome, we can better understand the various diseases affected by microbiome dysfunction and design microbiome directed treatments for these disorders.
See attached PDF for details of each weeks seminar:
See attached PDF for details of each weeks seminar:
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.
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
Register for this event
Have a look at past years’ events on our archive page.
Visit the HEDC Website for details and registration for this event and all other HEDC workshops. Places are limited.
Please find attached an invitation to attend the Fulbright NZ Scholar Award Information Session for academic staff on Tuesday, 4 May 2021 at 10.30-11.30am.
Please circulate this widely.
Penelope Borland, Executive Director of Fulbright New Zealand, will be introducing this session, and Magnolia Wilson, Programme Manager will provide an overview of the Fulbright Scholar Awards.
Date: Tuesday, 4 May 2021
Time: 10.30am-11.30am
Venue: University of Otago Staff Club (downstairs)
If you are interested, registrations are essential – RSVP: dvc.research@otago.ac.nz
See attached PDF for details of each weeks seminar:
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to host our 257th Scientific meeting, the 2021 Summer Student Awards. This will be held on 5th May 2021 at 5pm in the Barnett Lecture Theatre.
10 speakers have been selected from a range of departments. A prize of $500 will be awarded for the best presentation, and a prize of $250 will be awarded to the runner up, sponsored by the Otago Medical Research Foundation.
Please come along and support our students in their endeavours. There will be drinks and food at the end of the presentations.
The speakers and approximate timings are (click the image to enlarge):
