As IRANZ continues to grow, our members are delighted to officially welcome the National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) NZ to our community. Their expertise in transport research significantly enriches our Infrastructure, Society, and Economy portfolio and opens new avenues for future research collaborations. We eagerly anticipate collaborating with them on key initiatives that will shape the future of transport solutions in New Zealand.
The Science System Advisory Group, established by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, remains committed to its challenging mission of strengthening the architecture of the R&D system. With many moving parts, we understand that the Crown Research Institutes may undergo substantive changes. We are closely monitoring developments, as these changes could impact Independent Research Organisations and potentially broaden the constituency of IRANZ.
In other significant news, we are thrilled to announce that Professor Paora John Tohiteururangi Tapsell CRSNZ has been elected as a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi. His innovation, commitment, and leadership within Māori communities are truly commendable. Paora has been a steadfast advocate for Māori health and wellbeing, leading and participating in research projects that focus on Indigenous issues, heritage, and community development across Aotearoa and the Pacific.
In recent years, Paora's work under Project Kāinga, a five-year research programme aimed at helping isolated marae communities build resilience in the face of climate change, has garnered widespread recognition. IRANZ extends its warmest congratulations to Paora for this well-deserved honour.
Ngā mihi
Dr Rob Whitney
Executive Officer
September 2024
Professor Paora John Tohiteururangi Tapsell has been elected as a Companion of the Royal Society Te Apārangi for his far-reaching innovation, commitment, and leadership within Māori communities. Photo: David St George.
Dr Matt Munro from Gillies McIndoe Research Institute has been awarded a Neurological Foundation of New Zealand Small Project Grant to further investigate the effectiveness of repurposed drugs in treating meningioma. Photo: Gillies McIndoe.
After six years of development, instrumentation specialists at WSP Research have launched a revolutionary new traffic sensor system. It’s set to be a gamechanger for accurate, real-time, safe traffic counting in Aotearoa New Zealand and abroad.
Solar-powered sensors have been designed to replace tube and loop counters which until now have been the usual way of counting traffic. They take just seconds to install for temporary traffic counting, and only minutes for permanent counting – meaning significant health and safety benefits.
Technical instrumentation principal Mike Lusby says for temporary traffic counts, it’s as simple as peeling off the sensor’s adhesive backing and sticking it on the road surface. For permanent deployment, sensors are bolted down.
“Compare this to traditional tube counters for traffic, which are costly and labour-intensive to deploy, have a high number of failures, lack remote data capability and have difficulty monitoring traffic across multiple lanes.”
The National Transport Research Organisation (NTRO) NZ is pleased to announce its official acceptance as a member of the Independent Research Association of New Zealand (IRANZ).
"As an IRANZ member, NTRO NZ will benefit from increased opportunities to engage with key government agencies and fellow research organisations," says NTRO NZ's National Manager Rod James. "This includes participating in important policy discussions and contributing to the future of research and innovation in New Zealand. This membership underscores our status as a non-profit, independent research organisation dedicated to advancing transport solutions in New Zealand."
"We are thrilled to have NTRO NZ join our association," says IRANZ Executive Officer Dr Rob Whitney. "Their expertise in transport research adds tremendous value to our Infrastructure, Society, and the Economy portfolio and paves the way for future research collaborations. We look forward to collaborating with them on key policy initiatives that will help shape the future of transport solutions in New Zealand."
Mackie Research is leading the creation of a Harm Reduction Action Plan for Waka Kotahi’s work-related road safety programme, aiming to treat work-related road safety as a critical health and safety risk with continuous improvements in management. Currently, overlapping responsibilities between occupational health and road safety leave gaps in leadership, but all stakeholders—from government to businesses—must contribute.
With 50-70% of work-related fatalities occurring on New Zealand roads and 25% of all deaths and serious injuries on our roads work-related, the need for focussed, evidence-based action is clear. The plan outlines promising interventions and an investment decision process to ensure transparent, cost-effective solutions that enhance the safety of professional drivers, travellers, and road workers.
The action plan is set for completion in October, after which government, industry, and stakeholders will be better positioned to make informed decisions and significantly reduce the risks for those working on and around New Zealand’s roads.
At around 25 carefully chosen sites around Aotearoa New Zealand and offshore, metal building materials are systematically exposed to nature’s harshest conditions. It’s all in the interests of safe, durable, and fit-for-purpose homes and buildings.
It’s unlikely that a visit to Oteranga Bay on the North Island’s remote southwestern tip is on the bucket list of many. Facing directly into Cook Strait’s churning belly, the bay is repeatedly pummelled by some of the fiercest salt-laden winds on the planet.
For Zhengwei Li, a senior scientist in BRANZ’s Better Buildings Research team, it’s a dream location. It offers exactly the kind of turbocharged natural environment his research demands.
Zhengwei manages BRANZ’s nationwide network of exposure sites, where a variety of metals intended for use in the building and construction industry and infrastructure sector are put to the sternest of tests by nature. Currently on trial is a range of mild and stainless steels, as well as copper, zinc, aluminium and ZAM – an alloy of zinc, aluminium and magnesium.
HERA CEO Dr Troy Coyle writes about the role of industry's voice in vocational education. "The future of vocational education in Aotearoa is at a critical juncture."
The Minister for Tertiary Education and Skills, Hon Penny Simmonds, has recently released consultation documentation outlining potential changes to the future of vocational education. Consultation closes 12 September 2024.
"At HERA, we’re concerned about the direction vocational education is heading – especially when it comes to our Workforce Development Councils (WDCs). In particular, clarity on WDC’s role - the consultation document doesn’t explain or make clear why WDCs are being reformed. The rationale relating to Te Pūkenga is made clear but is notably missing for WDCs. In fact, the regulatory impact statement (RIS) supports a status quo for WDCs and recognises that no changes are needed."
The ocean is changing, and the trade-offs involved with fishing are becoming more complex. Dragonfly director and fisheries scientist, Philipp Neubauer, is currently in the proof of concept stage for a new platform ‘Right Time, Right Place’.
Philipp presented on Right Time, Right Place at the Seafood New Zealand conference in Auckland in early August, and demonstrated how this new technology could fundamentally enhance how the fisheries industry operates.
Right Time, Right Place uses ocean and fisheries data to predict the distributons of fish species, allowing fishers to catch the fish they want, and leave the species they don’t want alone. More accurate forecasting will help fishers make more efficient, sustainable decisions.
“For fisheries to be resilient and profitable, fisheries management must become more dynamic,” says Philipp.
“The current science system is focussed on generating analysis and producing advice, while this important, it is way too slow to have operational value to fishers.”
Cawthron scientists are studying the water filtering ability of Greenshell mussels to find out whether they could be used to improve coastal water quality through a nature-based solution called ‘bioremediation’.
There are many causes of poor coastal water quality, including pollution, sedimentation and nutrient loading from activities that occur in both the immediate environment and wider catchment.
Cawthron marine ecologist Dr Dan Crossett said the idea behind nature-based solutions is to work with nature and natural processes to solve complex challenges.
“Cawthron’s goal for environmental restoration is to find solutions that work with nature because we find they have a range of flow on benefits for both the environment and people, and they tend to require fewer inputs and have fewer unintended consequences,” says Dan.
Shallow groundwater systems are becoming a significant hazard in our built environments, with water tables often alarmingly shallow and rising. This not only increases construction costs but also elevates the risk of liquefaction and flood damage. Yet, there's a critical lack of data on the issue.
In August, Aqualinc announced a new research programme with funding from BRANZ, the Natural Hazards Commission Toka Tū Ake, the Building Innovation Partnership at the University of Canterbury, and the Marlborough District Council, to build a value proposition for a national shallow groundwater database and come up with solutions
"A huge thank you to Lyell and Val McMillan for enabling us to establish a test site in Southbridge, Canterbury. Here, we've been conducting extensive tests using seismic, electrostatic methods, and ground-penetrating radar," says Aqulinc CEO Dr John Bright.
The New Zealand wine industry is thriving, but with growth comes the challenge of managing grape marc waste – those leftover skins, seeds, and stems. Traditionally seen as a disposal challenge, grape marc is rich in valuable bioactive compounds and organics. While previous research has focused on extracting these bioactive compounds, the remaining organic-rich residue can also be repurposed as feedstock for chemical production, representing a promising, scalable valorisation pathway that has not been fully explored in New Zealand.
To repurpose grape marc as a carbon neutral and renewable feedstock for engineered bioprocesses, Dr Shan Yi and her research team at the University of Auckland (UoA) aimed to develop a novel biochemical engineering process to convert the bulk organics in grape marc into medium-chain organic acids using the catalytic abilities of anaerobic microorganisms. Funded by the Bragato Research Institute, this research project was also part of the PhD research of Kai Xin Chia.
Te Tira Whakamātaki (TTW) recently published a survey exploring public sentiment on the use of genetic technologies for pest management in Aotearoa New Zealand. Conducted between 9 July and 27 August 2023, the survey involved 537 participants, with 26% identifying as Māori and 74% as Pākehā (non-Māori).
The survey revealed a high awareness of the Predator Free 2050 (PF2050) initiative but lower confidence in its achievability, with only 41% of Māori and 31% of Pākehā believing it is attainable. However, 77% of Māori and 79% of Pākehā supported the eradication of invasive species.
Both groups recognized the importance of biosecurity to New Zealand's export industry and agreed on the need to keep the country free from new pests and diseases. However, only about half of the respondents felt knowledgeable about biosecurity.
When it came to genetic technologies for pest control, opinions were divided. While 44% of Māori and 55% of Pākehā supported their use, a significant portion of respondents were opposed or uncertain. Supporters cited the potential to protect taonga species, but many stressed the need for safety measures and alignment with Te Ao Māori. Those opposed expressed concerns about the risks and preferred traditional pest control methods.
The survey highlighted a general lack of public knowledge about genetic technologies, with many respondents unsure of their stance. Both Māori and Pākehā trusted scientists as sources of information, with Māori also placing significant trust in iwi leaders. The survey underscores the diverse perspectives on genetic technologies in pest management. The findings emphasize the need for culturally sensitive and inclusive decision-making processes that consider the varied views and values of both Māori and Pākehā. Image: Te Tira Whakamātaki (TTW).
Lincoln Agritech's recently released Annual Review for 2023 celebrates 60 years of innovation.
In the report, they look back on how some of their enduring research themes have evolved over the past 60 years – such as in freshwater and agri-technology – and look forward at their research into some more recent challenges, such as climate change action and developing new high-value uses for natural materials such as wool and cellulose.
The review provides several case studies of Lincoln Agritech's research and how it helps their partners and end-users. These include increasing productivity sustainably, predicting and mitigating climate change, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and developing strategies for managing clean, accessible, and efficiently-used water.
Last year was a year of change for Lincoln Agritech. They formed new partnerships including a Horizon Europe research programme, and they and IRANZ farewelled long-term Chief Executive Peter Barrowclough.
Motu Research has conducted a comprehensive evaluation of the COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Support (WSS) programme, using a cost-benefit analysis from a societal perspective across New Zealand’s economy. Their findings reveal that the wage subsidy provided significant value for money, allowing more workers to retain their jobs and more sole traders to stay in business than initially predicted.
The analysis highlighted positive benefit-to-cost ratios across different waves of the subsidy, with the March 2020 wave achieving a ratio of 1.45 after 12 months. While later waves showed varying results, the overall impact remained positive. Motu Research also emphasized that the wage subsidy helped stabilize employment during a critical period, contributing to overall economic resilience.
The researchers recommend further evaluation of the August 2021 wage subsidy and suggest a broader investigation into fiscal interventions during the pandemic to assess their effectiveness at a macroeconomic level. These insights could guide future policy decisions in response to economic crises.
A phase 2 clinical trial of a new CAR T-cell therapy is getting underway at Wellington Hospital this month, on the back of promising phase 1 results that suggest improved safety compared with leading commercial CAR T-cell therapies, while remaining highly effective for B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphomas.
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a personalised cell therapy, in which a patient’s own immune cells are reprogrammed to recognise and eliminate cancer cells. Malaghan Institute Clinical Director Dr Robert Weinkove says commencing a phase 2 trial is a major step towards CAR T-cell therapy becoming a standard of care for certain blood cancers in New Zealand.
“We have final regulatory and ethical approvals, our first site is ready to go, and clinicians around New Zealand have been advised of the criteria and how to refer patients. We hope this new trial will confirm effectiveness and safety of our new NZ-developed CAR T-cell therapy and result in registration for routine use in New Zealand and overseas.”
Gillies McIndoe PhD student, Dr Sam Siljee, has been recognized in the New England Biolabs Passion in Science awards. His submission, “Sound of Science” earned him an award in the Art in Science category, which celebrates the intrinsic creativity and artistry in scientific discovery. Sam's innovative approach to sonifying raw mass spectrometry data highlights the beauty of scientific data, transforming it into an auditory experience that changes how we perceive and engage with science.
Sam's research focusses on the early changes in lung squamous cell carcinoma, utilising large proteomics datasets. By converting complex data into soundscapes, he has created a tool that is more accessible to the public and has potential applications in education and for vision-impaired scientists. His work demonstrates how art and science can intersect to enhance understanding and communication.
In October, Sam will travel to New England Biolabs in Ipswich, Massachusetts, to celebrate this achievement at the awards ceremony.
Sam has maintained a strong research connection with the Gillies McIndoe Research Institute since his summer studentship in 2014. After completing his medical degree at the University of Otago, he returned in 2020 as a PhD student, supported by the Victoria University of Wellington Doctoral Scholarship, to focus on lung cancer research. His current work involves exploring the role of the tumour suppressor gene p53 in lung squamous cell carcinoma using advanced microscopy and protein analysis techniques.
Gisborne musician and early-childhood educator Jasmine Taare spent over 15 years battling a secret meth addiction. Now, she's part of a pioneering study by Mātai Medical Research Institute in Tairāwhiti, examining how the brain and heart recover from prolonged meth use. This initiative uses advanced scanning technology to monitor the recovery of around 20 former meth users.
Jasmine, who once relied on meth to function daily, has turned her life around and is raising awareness about the study's significance. “It’s given me better knowledge about my body and how it’s been affected,” she said. She now takes her health more seriously.
Initial results from the study are expected next year and will be shared with both the local community and academic journals. Jasmine hopes that by sharing her experiences, she can positively impact others facing similar struggles.
The story was originally published by RNZ Checkpoint reporter Jimmy Ellingham on 25 July.
Dr Swee Tan, a lead researcher at Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, is now recruiting participants for a Phase II clinical trial focussed on glioblastoma treatment. Following the successful Phase I trial, which demonstrated the safety and tolerability of a novel combination of repurposed drugs, the Phase II trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this treatment in a larger group of 75 patients.
The trial targets individuals recently diagnosed with glioblastoma and will explore a combination of drugs believed to regulate cancer stem cells. If you've recently been diagnosed and are interested in participating, please contact info@gmri.org.nz for more details. To participate you must be over 16 years old and able to swallow pills.
This trial has been made possible thanks to the generosity of Gillies McIndoe's donors, including the Hugo Charitable Trust, Lindsay Foundation, Pacific Radiology, and others. To learn more, watch the Phase II glioblastoma trial video on YouTube.
Malaghan PhD student Rosemary Jackson is investigating the effect of fever on our immune system. By taking a deep-dive into T-cell activity, her work is challenging whether our current approach to managing fever is the best way to overcome infectious disease.
Rosemary remembers one of the worst experiences of her life. Every inch of her body was aching, she was both delirious and nauseous. The arid, sub-Saharan air stoked the scorching heat of her body. She was lying facedown on a mercifully cool slab of concrete, pleading for the heat and pain to leave her body.
Rosemary had contracted malaria. To make things worse, she had minimal access to medical care, her only relief from the sustained fever and pain coming from paracetamol and ibuprofen.
“Fever happens when our immune system detects a threat and communicates the presence of an infection to our brains. Our body’s thermostat, located in a part of our brain called the hypothalamus, then turns up the heat,” says Rosemary.
Groundwater has been referred to as the hidden resource because it is usually “out of sight, out of mind”. But for Canterbury’s rural communities, groundwater has been front of mind for decades; providing water supplies for irrigation, stockwater, farm and domestic use. In the July issue of Canterbury Farming Newspaper, Dr Andrew Dark from Aqualinc talks about groundwater as an energy source and how irrigation from groundwater has transformed the landscape and socio-economic fabric of parts of the Canterbury Plains that were previously highly drought-prone.
"Whether this transformation has gone too far, both in terms of the volumes of water abstracted and the introduction of contaminants related to land-use to the groundwater system, is a topic of intense debate."
There are several facets of groundwater systems that are beginning to receive more attention, including the role of groundwater in flooding, its contribution to hazards for the built environment, and its potential as an energy source.
Ground source heat pumps (GSHPs) have been a feature of the post-quake rebuild for Christchurch, with several large building projects incorporating them. Photo: Aqualinc Research.
A new seagrass blueprint released by Cawthron Institute hopes to pave the way for large-scale restoration efforts of seagrass meadows across the country, helping to support biodiversity, improve water quality and sequester carbon.
‘Restore the Meadows’ is a multi-year research programme led by Cawthron that began in 2022. The programme aims to trial seed-based seagrass restoration methods using a Nelson Haven case study that could inform scalable seagrass restoration efforts.
“Our aim was to develop an easy to use, step-by-step guide for groups and organisations with an interest in seagrass restoration,” says project co-leader Dr Anna Berthelsen.
“We’ve included simple methods wherever possible to help ensure as many people as possible can participate in seagrass restoration. Whilst specialist equipment is required for some activities, our goal is to continue to make this important restoration activity as easy as possible because we know that thriving seagrass meadows are vital for ecosystem health in coastal areas.”
BRANZ CEO Claire Falck says Aotearoa New Zealand can learn crucial lessons from life-saving advances in earthquake preparedness made in Taiwan between two significant earthquakes in the last 25 years. Science led the way in Taiwan and it must continue to do so here.
Still haunted by the devastating 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake that killed more than 2,400 people, Taiwan was struck once more on 3 April 2024. Taiwan seismologists described this tremor as having an energy equivalent of 32 of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima.
As the nation mourned the tragic loss of 13 people and the clean-up began, in Taiwan and around the world, three questions were being asked. What had happened in Taiwan in the intervening 25 years to account for a remarkably lower death toll? Why were those tragic deaths largely attributable to rock falls and landslides rather than building collapses? And, importantly, what lessons are there for other earthquake-prone nations to learn?
Transitioning the construction sector to a circular economy is not just about reducing emissions today but ensuring our buildings and materials are part of an ongoing cycle that benefits future generations.
HERA's CEO Dr Troy Coyle writes about carbon impacts in the building industry, she says that many of the discussions about carbon and indeed carbon calculation focus on modules A – C life cycle assessment processes. "There is often a lack of robust data about end of life and beyond carbon impacts, which limits meaningful assessment of impacts (or benefits) in these stages of construction."
"We obviously have a need to decarbonise our built environment now in order to meet our national carbon reduction targets and address the challenges of the climate crisis. MBIE’s Building for Climate Change initiatives are a step in the right direction and rightfully focus on whole of life emissions. If we don’t start to think more about circularity of our buildings and their component systems and materials, we risk solving our immediate problem and then deferring the problem for the next generations to deal with when our building stock being built now comes to the end of its life."
Ask anyone over a certain age and you’ll hear how cars used to be stupendously unsafe. Thankfully, we’ve come a long way since bench seats, unpadded metal surfaces and no seatbelts. Modern cars now bristle with electronics designed to protect precious human cargo.
There’s a phrase for one of the technologies keeping people safer behind the wheel - ‘Intelligent Speed Adaptation’ (ISA). And WSP employs two of Aotearoa New Zealand’s foremost ISA experts – Fergus Tate and Bill Frith.
The Wellington-based pair were recently involved in a report for the NZ Transport Agency looking at how ISA can help with road safety.
The report’s main conclusion is that ISA has appreciable crash reduction benefits, and that the benefits outweigh the costs. In New Zealand, ISA has the potential to save 5,298 deaths and serious injuries over the next 40 years.
The report follows an earlier ISA report done for the transport agency in 2013 where ISA was fitted to people’s cars and their speed recorded as they drove a route around Wellington.
HERA: Ep.108 – Skill set reset: Vocational education at a crossroad
In this episode of Stirring the Pot HERA talks with Phil Alexander-Crawford. As CEO at Hanga Aro Rau Workforce Development Council (WDC), Phil leads the discussion on transforming vocational education, forging strong industry partnerships, and embracing workforce diversity.
2024 Cawthron Annual Lecture - Dr Xavier Pochon
Cawthron Scientist Dr Xavier Pochon provide a comprehensive overview of how citizen science is contributing to mapping ocean health through the newly launched Citizens of the Sea project.
Lincoln Agritech: Discover the Hidden Hazard of Shallow Groundwater
An insightful webinar, with Lincoln Agritech’s Dr Helen Rutter, that delves into the critical yet frequently neglected subject of shallow groundwater. Discover how this "out of sight, out of mind" resource influences flooding, susceptibility to liquefaction, architectural design, infrastructure, health, and more. Also, understand what effect climate change is likely to have.
IRANZ has gone social. For up-to-date information about the activities of our member organisations and notification of updates to the website follow us on the link below.
IRANZ is an association of independent research organisations. Its members undertake scientific research, development or technology transfer. Members include Aqualinc Research Ltd, Bragato Research Institute, BRANZ, Cawthron Institute, DigiLab, Dragonfly Data Science, Gillies McIndoe Research Institute, HauHau Research, Heavy Engineering Research Association (HERA), International Global Change Institute (IGCI), Leather & Shoe Research Association (LASRA), Lincoln Agritech Ltd, Mackie Research, Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, Manawatū AgriFood Digital Lab, Medical Research Institute of New Zealand (MRINZ), Mātai Medical Research, M.E Research, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research, National Transport Research Organisation, Scarlatti, Stoneleigh Consulting, Takarangi Research Group,
Te Tira Whakāmataki, and WSP Research.
Contact: Dr Rob Whitney, Executive Officer, mobile: +64 27 2921050, email: information@iranz.org.nz
