Scholarships

Pacific Doctoral Scholarship

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death globally and remains a significant health concern in Aotearoa. One of the most fatal forms of CVD is arrhythmia, an irregular heartbeat that often goes unnoticed until symptoms become fatal. Research suggests that a primary cause of arrhythmia is dysfunction of the ryanodine receptor (RyR2), a cardiac protein involved with the heart’s electrical signals. Using a technique known as super-resolution microscopy, research has shown that in a healthy heart, RyR2 proteins group or cluster together to ensure proper function. However, in diseased states, these clusters become disorganised, leading to an increased risk of arrhythmia. While researchers generally agree that RyR2 clustering is important, the exact role it plays in arrhythmia in human hearts is still debated. A reason for this is the errors inherent to super-resolution microscopy. Whilst the microscopes themselves have reached sufficient accuracy they rely on fluorescent probes attached to proteins. This is appropriate for animal models as they can be genetically modified to include these probes, however, it largely precludes their use in human tissue. The current study aims to overcome this hurdle by developing novel fluorescent probes that can accurately identify RyR2 in both animal and human samples. By improving how we study RyR2 clusters, this research will enhance our understanding of their implications in arrhythmia in patients, with hopes to provide insights for future anti-arrhythmic treatments.

Māori/Pacific Doctoral Scholarship

Despite widespread recognition of the importance that a diverse health workforce carries for addressing inequities in Indigenous health, minimal research exists exploring the factors that enable Māori and Pacific health professionals to thrive once they are in the health workforce. The importance of a workforce that is representative of the diverse communities it serves is clear. The positive impact that this can bring on our communities is also evident. However, strategies for ensuring a reflective workforce are appropriately supported are less understood.

The aim of this study is to investigate the experiences of Māori and Pacific heart health practitioners and professionals and explore the factors that enable them to thrive, sign posting a way forward to developing culturally safe praxis. Underpinned by shared values of Māori and Pacific research methodologies, this research will adopt an action-oriented lens. It will be based on a strengths-based and solutions-focused approach. It seeks to impact the way cardiovascular services, systems, training institutes, and health provider organisations intentionally recognise, support, and uplift Māori and Pacific cultural intelligence and Indigenous wisdom

Doctoral Scholarship

This research is grounded in a Māori worldview, integrating mātauranga Māori related to hot and cold therapies. The study will focus on: assessing the acute and adaptive effects of sauna bathing on cardiovascular health; understanding participants' perceptions of how sauna bathing influences their hauora and exploring pūrākau relating to hot and cold therapies. By merging traditional Māori insights, Scandinavian sauna practices, and scientific evidence with regard to hot and cold therapies, this project seeks to deepen our understanding of sauna bathing as a strategy for enhancing heart health.

Pacific Doctoral Scholarship

Group A streptococcus (GAS) are bacteria that causes a range of diseases including acute rheumatic fever (ARF) and invasive GAS infections (iGAS). Pacific and Māori communities in Aotearoa have some of the highest rates of ARF worldwide. Progression of ARF into rheumatic heart disease (RHD) is a significant cause of hospitalisations and death in these communities. Despite national efforts, rates of ARF remain high. This project will describe the profile and characteristics of ARF in Canterbury, as well as the incidence of iGAS infections in children <18 years of age in Aotearoa from 2012-2022. It will also explore the experiences of patients and their whānau affected by ARF to identify areas of improvement in the quality.

Healthy individuals with no risk factors should not develop atherosclerotic coronary artery disease (CAD). So why do ~40% of these apparently healthy individuals develop CAD? Psychosocial stress is acknowledged as an important contributor to the development and progression of CAD. However, the underlying mechanisms remain incompletely understood. One potential explanation that connects psychosocial stress to CAD is blood pressure reactivity. Data suggests that those with greater perceived psychosocial stressors have increased blood pressure reactivity during an incremental treadmill test. Psychosocial stress may set up a vicious circle leading to a cascade of autonomic and inflammatory processes that impair blood vessel function and promotes greater blood pressure reactivity to exercise. In turn, this exaggerated blood pressure responsiveness causes further damage to the delicate blood vessels contributing to the development of CAD and increasing cardiovascular risk. This project will: 1) determine the associations between psychosocial stress, blood pressure reactivity to treadmill testing, and cardiovascular outcomes, 2) compare markers of vascular health in physiological investigations of those with high stress/blood pressure reactivity and low stress/blood pressure reactivity, and 3) determine whether a novel kaupapa Māori intervention lowers psychosocial stress and blood pressure reactivity. Collectively, these investigations will help validate a non-invasive means of identifying at risk individuals, better understand the underlying mechanisms, and validate a novel interventional strategy to improve health outcomes.

Māori Doctoral Scholarship

Te Whetu is working within her own community on the East Coast, based in Gisborne, in collaboration with Ngāti Porou Oranga, and will focus on whanau who have evidence of inherited cardiac conditions, but for whom there are no definitive findings from current cardiac gene panel tests.

The project aims are:

1. Work with clinicians and Māori health providers to identify one or more whanau in the Tairāwhiti district with inherited heart condition for which the underlying genetic factors are unknown.
2. Understand the family structure and whakapapa, to provide data around likely inheritance pattern, and which members of the of the whanau may be at risk.
3. Apply genome sequencing methods to identify candidate underlying genes and evaluate any genes or variants in affected and unaffected members of the whanau.
4. If the underlying genetic cause can be identified, work with genetic counsellors and local cardiologists to understand preventive procedures or treatment for affected whanau members.
5. Ensure dissemination of all relevant findings to the whanau, the wider hapu and iwi, and to relevant clinical services. 

Doctoral Scholarship

The glymphatic system acts a drain surrounding blood vessels within our brain and is vital for waste clearance. In diabetes and hypertension, blood vessels within the brain become inflamed, clogging up this drainage pathway. We hypothesizse a viscous cycle where waste accumulation further exacerbates inflammation and hypertension. We have identified a novel drug to reduce inflammation and improve the relaxation of brain blood vessels, helping flush out waste and improve brain health. Using our preclinical rat model combining diabetes and hypertension, we will explore the mechanisms regulating glymphatic drainage, and whether reducing brain inflammation can improve waste clearance and hypertension.