Liggins Link—April 2026

PITOPITO KŌRERO | NEWS

“The best of what a physician can be”

Teenage Wayne Cutfield wanted to be a politician, but then decided he could make a bigger difference as a doctor. Now he has been awarded the top annual prize for physicians in Australasia, a rare honour for a Kiwi.

‘Paediatric endocrinologist’ doesn’t roll off the tongue. And the treatment and study of the complex and almost invisible system that regulates all the hormones in children's bodies is a relatively young specialty.

But it's growing fast. As a paediatric endocrinologist, the Liggins Institute’s Professor Wayne Cutfield sees and researches hormone imbalances, glandular issues, and metabolic disorders involving growth and development, puberty, diabetes, thyroid function, and metabolism.

In a career spanning 40 years, he’s been everything from a one-man band on the end of a phone talking to distraught parents of diabetic children and trying to keep those children out of hospital, to a leading international researcher on the gut microbiome and its impact on obesity, anxiety, even autism.

No wonder last month the Royal Australasian College of Physicians named Cutfield its College Medal recipient for 2026.

Can a wearable sensor be a game-changer for type 2 diabetes care?

Kiwi kids take a lot of antibiotics – here’s why that’s a problem.

 Image: Newsroom/Getty Images

Antibiotics are one of medicine’s greatest success stories, but they also disrupt the gut microbiome. Could components found in breast milk be the answer, asks Liggins Institute Professor of Paediatric Endocrinology, Wayne Cutfield.

You don’t have to read many Victorian novels to understand the toll infectious diseases took on children before antibiotics came along. Charles Dickens’ Tiny Tim (A Christmas Carol) dies, most likely of tuberculosis; half of Jane Eyre’s schoolmates succumb to typhus, the disease that killed two of the author Charlotte Brontë’s sisters in real life.

Anne, of Green Gables fame, is seen as a hero after saving the life of her best friend’s sister, Minnie May, when she gets diphtheria.

In 19th century England and America, something like 40 percent of children died of an infection before their fifth birthday.

Penicillin was first discovered in 1928 and antibiotic use became widespread in the mid-1940s. Since then, the lives of millions of children have been saved every year; millions more would benefit from wider distribution in developing countries and a solution to antimicrobial resistance.

But over the past decade, researchers looking at the gut microbiome have discovered something concerning about antibiotics. They aren’t just killing off bad bacteria, they are also depleting the network of beneficial microorganisms inside our gut.

Paediatric specialist urges Pharmac to fund weight loss medication Wegovy for teenagers

Photo credit:  RNZ/ Jens Kalaene

Pediatric specialist Professor Wayne Cutfield is urging the country's drug agency to fund weight loss medication for teenagers.

A Pharmac advisory panel has provisionally recommended funding Wegovy for chronic weight management in people with high BMI's and associated conditions. But Professor Cutfield believes there are a number of teenagers who would benefit from the drug if it is funded. He told RNZ Checkpoint that funding Wegovy for teenagers would help prevent serious health issues before they arose.

He said he frequently sees very obese teenagers coming into the clinic.

"These are teenagers who weigh between 120 and 150 kilograms, these are 14 to 16 year old teenagers."

"Most of these teenagers who have severe obesity will gain between half a kilogram and a kilogram a month - month on month, year on year... you can see by the time they're 45, they will have much more severe obesity."

Cutfield said Pharmac choosing not to fund the drug for teenagers would be like "closing the gate after the horse had bolted".

NGĀ KAUPAPA NUI | EVENTS

Public Lecture – The Good Sh*t: turning microbiome science into therapy

MC Professor Katie Groom welcoming attendees and introducing the lecture.

We were delighted to welcome a record turnout of more than 400 attendees to our latest Liggins Institute public lecture in March. Demand was so high that we ran the event across two lecture theatres to accommodate everyone.

Our speakers – Professor Justin O’Sullivan, Professor Wayne Cutfield, Dr Amila Nawarathna and Dr Theo Portlock – delivered a thought-provoking exploration of microbiome science, covering the gut–brain axis, next-generation probiotics and protecting children’s microbiomes during antibiotic treatment. The audience’s engagement and insightful questions made for an energising and memorable evening.

Our sincere thanks to MCs Professor Katie Groom and Dr Olin Silander, Kaiārahi Haunui Royal, and all our organisers, helpers and attendees.

If you missed the event or want to revisit the presentations, the recording is now available to watch on our YouTube channel. 

Enhancing Lactation Care after Stillbirth and Infant Loss: A Workshop with the Lactation After Loss Quilt

Lactation After Loss Research Team presenters (left to right: Mariana Muelbert, Erin Mandeno, Jen Rogers, Katherine Carroll)

The 'Lactation after Loss Quilt' workshops, held on 17 and 19 March, brought together healthcare professionals supporting whānau after infant loss. This project aims to improve bereavement‑related lactation care in Aotearoa, using a quilt featuring quotes from bereaved parents to deepen clinicians’ understanding and strengthen confidence, compassion, and cultural safety.

The workshops offered space for interprofessional discussion, reflection on clinical practice, and engagement with the quilt’s narratives on meaning making after loss. Insights will inform a Lactation After Infant Loss training framework and care bundle adapted to the NZ cultural context. 

The project is co‑led by an Australia–New Zealand transdisciplinary team of researchers, lactation experts and cultural advisors. This workshop was facilitated by the Centre for Arts and Social Transformation (CAST) in collaboration with the Liggins Institute.

WHAKAMIHI | CONGRATULATIONS