2024 Summer Student Award
Tēnā koutou
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 269th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by 10 University of Otago Summer Student students. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. The scientific meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Otago Medical Research Foundation.
The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 24th April 2024 in the Barnett Lecture, Dunedin Hospital, with an option to attend via Zoom (see link below)
https://otago.zoom.us/j/8357112293?pwd=NWs0enVIL1lmUmJwN0RxaDB6eFo4QT09
Meeting ID: 835 711 2293; Password: 011302
Our speakers are listed below
| Approx time | Participant | Department | Title |
| 5pm | Welcome and opening Karakia | ||
| Miss Mia Cochrane | Department of Psychological Medicine | Pioneering artificial intelligence in the development of cognitive bias modification as a cost-effective treatment for depression. | |
| Mr Finlay Anderson | Department of Microbiology and Immunology | Targeted nanopore sequencing as a diagnostic tool for multi-drug resistant tuberculosis | |
| Mr Andy Stewart | Department of Anatomy | Establishing a model of viral-induced fever suppression in late pregnancy of mice | |
| Miss Angela Fu | Department of Physiology | Changes in RyR2 Phosphorylation in Genetically Modified Mice with absent CK2 activity | |
| Miss Anna Donaldson (zoom) | Dunedin School of Medicine | Discrepancies in clinical coding between rural and urban hospitals in Aotearoa New Zealand. | |
| 6pm | Short interval | ||
| Mr Tom McDermott | Microbiology and Immunology | Are CAR T cells susceptible to NK cell lysis? | |
| Miss Lucy Simmonds (zoom) | Department of Surgical Sciences, Dunedin School of Medicine | A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Facilitators to Compression Stocking use in Patients with Chronic Venous Disease | |
| Miss Sana Atithi | Physiology | Viral-mediated mapping of a novel escape network in the brain | |
| Miss Jessica Darnley | Microbiology and Immunology | Virus discovery in New Zealand mosquitoes | |
| Miss Samantha Ponder (zoom) | Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine | Effect of Amiloride on CPT1A expression in Reducing Kidney Fibrosis. | |
| 7.20pm | Closing Karakia and kai | ||
| 7.30pm | Presentation of winner and runner up prize | ||
| Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers.
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| Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well) |
2023 MSc / Hons / PGDipSci Student Award
Tēnā koutou,
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 268th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by 10 University of Otago MSc / Hons / PGDipSci students. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. The scientific meeting and prizes are kindly sponsored by Mediray.
During the break between speakers we will hold the AGM of the society.
The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 8th November 2023 in the Barnett Lecture, with an option to attend via Zoom
https://otago.zoom.us/j/92124148539?pwd=K2FjUHZqS055Q3J3OWhxU0Z0b2dKZz09
Our speakers are listed below
| Speaker | Title | Department |
| Opening karakia | ||
| Lucy Anderson | Exploring novel effective connectivity neurofeedback training for treatment of fibromyalgia: A pilot randomised placebo-controlled study | Department of Surgical Sciences |
| Samantha Nie | Characterising the cardiac inotropic mechanism of the carbon monoxide prodrug oCOm-21. | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Caitlin Syme | Validation of shear wave elastography as a potential new tool to monitor occurrence of endoleak after endovascular abdominal aortic aneurysm repair. | Department of Surgical Sciences |
| Phillipa Wilson | Cardiometabolic Risk Factors and pTau181 in Middle Age | Psychology |
| Andy Stewart | The role of lactogenic hormones in suppression of fever responses during late pregnancy | Anatomy |
| Interval including OMSRS AGM | ||
| Sushanth Yadhav | A cytotoxic cell-targeting approach to induce sterility in mammalian predator species of Aotearoa | Anatomy |
| Harry Gardner | The contribution by tau protein to hippocampal metaplasticity | Psychology |
| Nadia Kuepper | Cannabinoids influence insulin secretion in a mouse pancreatic β-cell line | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| Maddie Hardie Boys | Cross-resistance to cephalosporin antibiotics occurs in Pseudomonas aeruginosa lacking the aminoarabinosylation system. | Department of Microbiology and Immunology |
| Zei Kagaoan | Prolonged cleaning in ethanol decreases bond strength of 3D-printed crowns | Oral Rehabilitation |
| Closing remarks, karakia and kai |
| Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers.
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| Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well) |
OMSRS 100 year celebration – Invitation
Kia ora koutou,
The Otago Medical School Research Society invites you to join in celebrating 100 years of its proceedings.
When: Wednesday 4th October, 2023, 4:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Hutton Theatre, Otago Museum, Dunedin.
Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Helen Nicholson will open the meeting preceded with a karakia by Peter Williams.
Speakers include-
- Professor Patricia Cragg, Past President, OMSRS
- Professor Joanne Baxter, Dean, Dunedin School of Medicine
- Professor Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Dean (Acting), Biomedical Sciences
- Professor Carlo Marra, Dean, School of Pharmacy
- Professor Leigh Hale, Dean, School of Physiotherapy
- Professor Warwick Duncan, Director, Sir John Walsh Research Institute
- Professor Roslyn Kemp, Associate Dean Research, Division of Health Sciences
- Professor Bob Hancox, Head, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine
- Professor Cliff Abraham, Department of Psychology, Division of Sciences.
Acting Deputy Pro -Vice Chancellor of Division of Health Sciences Professor Neil Gemmell will be chairing the session.
Many Past Presidents and Officers of the Society will be present.
As a part of celebration, food and drinks will be available. For catering purposes, please RSVP HERE by 5pm, 26th September.
Ngā mihi nui,
Associate Professor Shyamal Das
President, The Otago Medical School Research Society (2023-24)
2023 PhD Student Award
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce 267th Scientific Meeting of the Society which will showcase the research performed by 10 University of Otago PhD students. A panel of judges will award $500 to the best speaker, and the runner-up will be awarded $250. This award is sponsored by the OMRF. Awards will be presented by Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor Patricia Priest.
The meeting will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 16th August 2023 in the Barnett Lecture, with an option to attend via Zoom (https://otago.zoom.us/j/92008661912?pwd=OXhVd1dyREI0NEtJWmdrSmFVc0ovZz09)
Our speakers are listed below:
| Time | Speaker | Title | Co-authors | Department |
| 5pm | A/Prof Shyamal Das | Opening Karakia and welcome | ||
| 5.05pm | Nayla Rhein | Spent coffee grounds as a novel biosorbent to remove nitrates from streams. | RJ Rosengren | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| 5.17pm | Cameron Reddington | Redefining the ASXL PHD as a DNA damage recognition factor. | T Kleffmann, CL Day, PD Mace | Biochemistry |
| 5.29pm | Dhananjie Chandrasekera | The role of pericardial fluid exosomes in diabetic heart disease | R. Shah, I. vanHout, W. DeJonge, R. Bunton, D. Parry, R. Katare | Physiology |
| 5.41pm | Hayley Stent | Biocompatible cross-linking of marine collagen nanofibers for tissue engineering. | MH Cumming, GC Dowd, LM Wise | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| 5.53pm | Rebecca Lord | Neuronal deletion of STAT3, but not ERK2, causes obesity and delayed puberty onset in mice. | MA Inglis, GM Anderson | Anatomy |
| 6.05-6.15pm | Intermission | |||
| 6.15pm | Fergus Payne | Carbon monoxide release by oCOm-21 enhances calcium sensitivity of the cardiac myofilament. | S Nie, GM Diffee, DS Larsen JC Harrison, JC Baldi, IA Sammut | Pharmacology & Toxicology |
| 6.27pm | Josiah Edwin | What do medical students want in self-help mental health resources ? A focus group study | Cornwall, J, Du Plooy, K | Psychological Medicine |
| 6.39pm | Lucy Thomsen | Clinically relevant drugs modulate the effect of AMB-FUBINACA in male and female mice. | DB Finlay, M Glass, RJ Rosengren | Pharmacology and Toxicology |
| 6.51pm | Margaretha Situmorang | Adolescents’ unhealthy snacking behaviour during the school journey | K Coppell, M Keall, M Smith, S Mandic | Department of Medicine |
| 7.03pm | Anastasia Labudina | Using a zebrafish stem cell model to understand the molecular basis of cohesinopathies. | G Gimenez, M Meier, S Ketharnathan, J Antony, JA Horsfield | Pathology |
| 7.15pm | Acting Pro-Vice Chancellor Patricia Priest | Presentation prizes and closing remarks | ||
Please join us to celebrate our emerging Otago Health researchers. Refreshments will be served from approximately 7.30 pm.
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)
2023 Research Staff Award
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 266th Scientific Meeting is the 2023 Research Staff Award.
This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 21st June 2023 in the Barnett Lecture Theatre. In person attendance is welcomed, but you may also join by zoom (details below).
Five research staff members will present their work, with a prize of $1000 for the winner. Presentations will be 15 minutes long, with 5 minutes for questions.
Please join us to celebrate Otago Health researchers. Refreshments will be served from approximately 7 pm.
Our speakers are listed below (in confirmed speaking order)
| Approx. Time | Presenter | Title | Department |
| 5:00 – 5:20 | Benjamin Halliday | Addressing Potential Inequities in the Design and Analysis of Clinical Chromosomal Microarrays in Aotearoa | Women’s and Children’s Health |
| 5:20 – 5:40 | Catherine Ronayne | Looking through the lipid glass: Is everything as it seems? | Pathology |
| 5:40 – 6:00 | Zoe Ashley | Can the surveillance schedule post endovascular repair (EVAR) of abdominal aortic aneurysms be safely reduced?: A single centre retrospective study. | Surgical Sciences |
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10min break
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| 6:10 – 6:30 | Zeina Al Naasan | Cultural safety in dental practice for former refugee patients | Sir John Walsh Research Institute |
| 6:30 – 6:50 | Kari Clifford | Improving Surgical Outcomes with Prehabilitation: Results from a comprehensive research program. | Surgical Sciences |
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Light refreshments
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Zoom details:
Topic: OMSRS Research Staff Meeting
Time: 5pm – 7.30pm
https://otago.zoom.us/j/98906519944?pwd=Y2k5UURGbmdBcm5TVGQrS2dGR2lJUT09
Meeting ID: 989 0651 9944
Password: 256983
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)
2023 Summer Student Award
265th Scientific Meeting of the Otago Medical School Research Society
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 265th Scientific Meeting is the 2023 Summer Student Award.
This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 26th April 2023 in the Barnett Lecture. In person attendance is welcomed, but you may also join by zoom (details below).
Ten Summer research students will present their work. Presentations will be 8 minutes long, with 4 minutes for questions.
The Pat Cragg Summer Student award will be presented to the best presentation, along with a prize of $500. The runner-up will be awarded $250.
This award is sponsored by The Otago Medical Research Foundation
Please join us to celebrate our emerging health researchers. Refreshments will be served from approximately 7.20pm.
Our speakers are listed below (in confirmed speaking order)
| Running order | Approx time | Participant | Title | Department | |
| 1 | 17.00 | Cole Melhopt | Retrospective Study of Compliance with Published Acute Severe Colitis Management Guideline in Colectomy Patients | Surgical Sciences | |
| 2 | 17.13 | Nicola Bicknell | Characterising the methylome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains endemic to Aotearoa. | Microbiology and Immunology | |
| 3 | 17.26 | Georgia Keelty | Characterizing transverse tubules in the right atrium of arrhythmic patients | Physiology | |
| 4 | 17.39 | Grace Kelly | Effects of chronic tinnitus on long-term potentiation in the rat hippocampus | Pharmacology and Toxicology | |
| 5 | 17.52 | Storm Voyce-McCulloch | Understanding how peroxiredoxins provide specificity in redox signalling | Biochemistry | |
| ~ 10 min Break | |||||
| 6 | 18.15 | Violina Gunawan | The stability of single-shade composite resins in the oral cavity. | Faculty of Dentistry | via Zoom |
| 7 | 18.28 | Jahman Naish Cochrane | Annual Incidence and Phenotypic Presentation of IBD in Otago New Zealand: a 25-Year Epidemiological Analysis | Otago Medical School | |
| 8 | 18.41 | Samantha Nie | Establishing force-velocity technique on isolated rat cardiomyocytes. | Pharmacology and Toxicology | |
| 9 | 18.54 | Willie Time | Ethnic inequity in academic outcomes at the University of Otago: A 5-year review of academic performance of Pasifika and New Zealand European anatomy students. | Anatomy | |
| 10 | 19.07 | Annie Leen | Identifying a new migraine-relevant receptor: potential paracrine interaction between calcitonin gene-related peptide and the amylin 1 receptor in the parabrachial nucleus | Pharmacology and Toxicology | |
Topic: OMSRS Summer Student Meeting
Time: 5pm – 7.30pm
Zoom Details: https://otago.zoom.us/meeting/94500565637
Passcode: 238091
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)
2022 PhD Student Award
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 263rd Scientific Meeting is the 2022 PhD Student Award
This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 17th August 2022 in the Barnett Lecture. In person attendance is welcomed, but you may also join by zoom (details below).
Ten PhD students will present their work. Presentations will be 8 minutes long, with 4 minutes for questions.
A panel of judges willl award the best speaker with $1000, sponsored by The Otago Postgraduate Medical Society. The runner-up will be awarded $500, sponsored by the Otago Medical Research Foundation.
Please join us to celebrate our emerging health researchers. Refreshments will be served from approximately 7pm.
Our speakers are listed below (in confirmed speaking order)
| Time (approx) | Speaker | Title | Co-Authors | Departments |
| 5:00 | Ian Liddle | Covalent chromenopyrazole chemical tools for the cannabinoid type 2 receptor. | M Glass2, JDA Tyndall3, AJ Vernall1 | Department of Chemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, , Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Otago, Dunedin, School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, Dunedin |
| 5:12 | Rakesh Bastola | Impact of lung fluid components on absorption of medication. | PM Young2,3, SC Das1 | 1School of Pharmacy, University of Otago; 2Woolcock Institute of Medical Research and Discipline of Pharmacology, Sydney Medical School; 3Department of Marketing, Macquarie Business School, Macquarie University. |
| 5:24 | Panagiotis Papaioannou | Lactation-induced desynchronization of the hypothalamic tuberoinfundibular dopaminergic neurons. | J. Yip2, T. Georgescu3, S. Bunn4. | 1 Centre for Neuroendocrinology Department of Anatomy, University of Otago, Dunedin. |
| 5:36 | Anastasia Labudina | Using a zebrafish stem cell model to understand the molecular basis of Cornelia de Lange Syndrome. | G Gimenez1, S Ketharnathan2, J Antony1, JA Horsfield1. | 1Department of Pathology, University of Otago, Dunedin, 2Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO) ,Ottawa, Canada. |
| 5:48 | Sung Kyong Lee | Association between parent’s childhood self-control and intergenerational tobacco smoking | RJ Hancox2, AR Gray 3 | 1-2 Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Otago Medical School, 3 Biostatistics Centre, Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago, Dunedin. |
| 6:00 | Break | |||
| 6:10 | Mifra Faiz | Elevated Ca2+ flux plays a vital role in type I calreticulin mutations. | M Kalev-Zylinska2, T Kleffmann1, R Day1, EC Ledgerwood1. | 1Department of Biochemistry, University of Otago, Dunedin, NZ, 2Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology, University of Auckland, NZ. |
| 6:22 | Sarah McQueen | Alpha-ENaC overexpression in MDAMB231 breast cancer cells reduces cell migration and proliferation. | HE Cunliffle2 and FJ McDonald1 | Department of Physiology, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Department of Pathology, Dunedin School of Medicine |
| 6:34 | Kushan Gandhi | A Focused Ultrasound-Mediated Drug Delivery System for Parkinson’s Disease | Jason Gray1,2, John N.J. Reynolds1,2 | 1Department of Anatomy, School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Otago, Brain Health Research Centre, University of Otago, Dunedin |
| 6:46 | Caitlin Berry-Kilgour | Decellularised seaweed as a novel biomaterial for treatment of skin wounds. | I Oey2, JD Cabral3, GC Dowd4, LM Wise1 | Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Department of Food Sciences, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited, Nelson. |
| 6:58 | Chitra Krishnan | Evaluating the suitability of Electrolysed Oxidising Water as a denture disinfectant. | KC Li, KM Lyons, GR Tompkins, RD Cannon. | John Walsh Research Institute, Faculty of Dentistry, University of Otago. |
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)
Zoom details: https://otago.zoom.us/j/93962079842?pwd=WGhER0lIWklzQlVEKytSTjZXWUVvQT09
Meeting ID: 939 6207 9842
Password: 510059
Research Staff Award Meeting Announcement
The Otago Medical School Research Society’s 262nd Scientific Meeting is the 2022 Research Staff Award
This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 22nd June 2022 in the Barnett Lecture. In person attendance is welcomed, but you may also join by zoom (details below).
Five researchers will present their work. Presentations will be 15 minutes long, with 5 minutes for questions.
The best presentation will be awarded $1000, sponsored by The Otago Postgraduate Medical Society.
Please join us to celebrate our health researchers. Refreshments will be served from approximately 7pm.
Our speakers are:
| 5:00 | Paulo Pelicioni | The “double-edged sword” impact of dyskinesia on the balance of people with Parkinson’s disease | School of Physiotherapy |
| 5:20 | Teodora Georgescu | Prolactin-mediated restraint of maternal aggression in lactation. | Departments of Anatomy and Physiology |
| 5:40 | Linda Hobbs | Seeking of help and support after experiencing sexual violence: Considerations for cisgender women, cisgender men and gender diverse people | Department of Psychological Medicine |
| 6:00 | Break | ||
| 6:10 | Paulomi Mehta | Reduction of lithium induced interstitial fibrosis on co-administration with amiloride | Department of Pathology |
| 6:30 | Caroline Decourt | Deletion of androgen receptors from kisspeptin neurons can prevent PCOS features in a letrozole mouse model. | Department of Anatomy |
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi
(With your basket, and my basket, the people will be well)
Zoom details: https://otago.zoom.us/j/93318534786?pwd=UHhiK3ovb1BRcHFpR1lyUjRDbzUrUT09
Meeting ID: 933 1853 4786
Password: 497543
2022 Summer Student Awards
The Otago Medical School Research Society is proud to announce the 261st Scientific Meeting : Summer Student Awards
This will occur between 5.00 – 7.30 pm on Wednesday 4th May 2022 in the Barnett Lecture. We are limiting in-person attendance to the speakers and their immediate supporters, but encourage others to attend via zoom at the link below.
The Pat Cragg Summer Student award will be presented to the best presentation, along with a prize of $500. The runner-up will be awarded $250.
This award is sponsored by The Otago Medical Research Foundation
Please attend and support our students. The zoom details are:
https://otago.zoom.us/j/92263725089?pwd=QkNnNEN6VHRuQUh2aHNVZTZKSi83QT09
Password: 056625
2021 Invited Speaker – Peter Williamson
The Otago Medical School Research Society are thrilled to announce Peter Williamson as our invited speaker for 2021.
Peter is Rautaki Hononga / Kaitakawaenga – Māori Strategic Framework Facilitator for the School of Biomedical Sciences and will be speaking on “Kaitiakitanga (caretakership) Today”.
Peter Williamson, Rautaki Hononga / Kaitakawaenga (Māori Strategic Framework Facilitator) at University of Otago
In the Māori world view, people originated out of the environment (Papatuānuku or mother earth). Medicine has engaged poorly with this mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge) treating human wellness separately to environmental wellness. Although living in the same “dwelling” alongside Papatuānuku, western medicine has in the main, ignored its own science of contagion seeing people as impervious to her failing health. This optimistic discussion proposes medicine will require a major focus on kaitiakitanga Māori for its credibility going forward.
We welcome you all to attend and learn from Peter on Wednesday 21st July at 5pm in the Barnett Lecture Theatre. Refreshments will be served.
