No images? Click here
Liggins Link – April 2025
Kia ora koutou,
Welcome to the April Liggins Link. In this edition, we feature several stories highlighting the research and expertise of our immunology researchers, Associate Professor Gergely Toldi and Senior Research Fellow Anna Brooks. I encourage you to read their insightful commentary about baby formula marketing, Long Covid, and the devastating impact of listeriosis infections during pregnancy.
At the Liggins Institute, we’re proud that three-quarters of our staff and two-thirds of our senior leadership team are women. To honour their significant contributions, we celebrated International Women’s Day on March 8th with two social media reels. You can watch them on our Facebook page.
Finally, I’m pleased to share the video and photos from our popular April public lecture, ‘The Developing Immune System: Growing Strong or Going Wrong?'. Thank you to our outstanding speakers – Dr Gergely Toldi, Dr Anna Brooks and Rohan Botica – and everyone who attended and contributed to the event’s success.
Ngā mihi nui
Justin
Professor Justin O'Sullivan
Director, The Liggins Institute,
University of Auckland
PITOPITO KŌRERO | NEWS
Government lobbying the same old formula – Gergely Toldi
Image credit: Getty Images / Newsroom
If the Government prioritised the health of babies, it would invest more in breastfeeding support and develop a national network of milk banks rather than listening to formula milk marketing
Analysis: As if busy new parents having to choose a formula milk product for their baby haven’t got more important things to do than trying to fathom what’s going on with the trans-Tasman standards on baby formula – the interests involved, the lobbying, the Government opting out of the trans-Tasman formula standards then backtracking and considering rejoining.
At stake here is the nutritional and developmental health of babies. As a consultant neonatologist at Starship Hospital in Auckland and a researcher who primarily focuses on early life development of the immune response, I would hope the interests of our children’s health couldn’t be so easily hijacked by financial interests. I’d hope parents could be provided with unbiased information so they could follow the science of what to feed their child, rather than be dazzled by unfounded marketing claims.
Further expert commentary from Gergely on infant nutrition and baby formula is available in the following media story:
Celebrating International Women’s Day – 8 March 2025
|
|
The Liggins Institute is proud to say three-quarters of our staff and two-thirds of our senior leadership team are women. And Associate Professor Fiona Lithander, Associate Director of Research, says the health of our mums and babies is all the better for it. |
|
“Educating a woman means educating a whole nation,” according to Dr Farha Ramzan. Farha came to Aotearoa from Kashmir in northern India in 2014 to do her PhD at the Liggins Institute. She has now been awarded a Royal Society Mana Tūāpapa Future Leader Fellowship for her work with the Māori traditional medicinal plant kawakawa. For International Women’s Day, Farha honours her family and all the wāhine working in the health research sector. “Keep doing the amazing work!” |
|
Covid-19 in NZ: Five years, five big unanswered questions
Image credit: The New Zealand Herald
It has been five years since New Zealand's first case of COVID-19. If the pandemic is likely to leave one legacy above all, that might well prove the quietly compounding health problem that is Long Covid.
The NZ Herald interviewed Liggins Institute immunologist and Long Covid researcher Dr Anna Brooks. She says,
Despite extensive research documenting multi-system disruption, the core mechanisms remain elusive. Understanding these will be the gateway to improving prevention strategies and developing targeted treatments.”
Listeria - the baby-killing bug that won’t budge
Image credit: Unsplash/Stuff
In December, another Kiwi baby died after getting infected with listeria. It was one of three pregnancy-related cases that month. Nikki Macdonald of the Sunday Star Times asks why, in the age of antibiotics, do unborn babies and newborns still die from a food-borne bug?
She spoke to Dr Gergely Toldi, Liggins Institute Associate Professor and neonatal specialist, about the impact of listeriosis infections on babies:
“It’s a nasty, nasty infection that can cause really a lot of damage, and sad, sad losses… It’s quite tricky to identify early on. There is treatment available, but by the time it presents, it can cause quite a bit of damage to the developing foetus.”
New ‘Ingenious’ podcast launches with Liggins research
Dr Amer Milan (left) and Dr Ry Tweedie-Cullen (right)
Amber Milan and Ry Tweedie-Cullen, both honorary Liggins staff members, feature in the first episode of the University’s new research podcast, Ingenious. Titled ‘Lactose intolerant: you’ll be surprised how many people are’, the podcast tackles the question: Is milk really good for you and includes the surprising statistic that up to 70% of the world’s population have lactose intolerance. The lucky remainder – mostly people with northern European heritage – have a 5000-8000-year-old genetic mutation, which means they continue to produce lactase, the enzyme that breaks down lactase, into adulthood. New Zealanders of Māori, Pacific, Asian, South American or African descent aren’t so lucky.
Listen to Ingenious on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.
Take 10 with... Gergely Toldi
Associate Professor Gergely Toldi of the Liggins Institute
Discover the fascinating world of infant immunology with Associate Professor Gergely Toldi. In our latest interview, Gergely discusses his research into a baby’s immune system – how it develops and can influence our health in childhood and throughout the lifespan. Learn about his day-to-day research activities, challenges and what he enjoys most. Read the full “Take 10” on our website.
Parkinson's MOOC
Grow your knowledge and understanding of Parkinson’s Disease. Liggins Institute Associate Professor Fiona Lithander is the nutrition lead for a groundbreaking free online course.
The Parkinson’s MOOC has been designed to be accessible to and informative for everyone, including people with Parkinson’s and their support networks, medical and allied health professionals and the wider global community.
NGĀ KAUPAPA NUI | EVENTS
Public Lecture: 'The Developing Immune System: Growing Strong or Going Wrong?'
Left to right: Associate Professor Gergely Toldi, Senior Research Fellow Anna Brooks and co-founder of DysImmune Research Aotearoa Rohan Botica.
We had an incredible turnout at the Liggins Institute public lecture earlier this month. A huge thank you to our brilliant speakers, Associate Professor Gergely Toldi and Senior Research Fellow Anna Brooks, for their insightful presentations on the development of the immune system and its impact on lifelong health. And to Rohan Botica for sharing his personal experience of living with ME/CFS. We appreciate everyone who attended and engaged in the discussions. The lecture video is now available on our YouTube channel.
Associate Professor Gergely Toldi presenting at the Liggins Institute public lecture, 'The Developing Immune System: Growing Strong or Going Wrong?'.
Senior Research Fellow Anna Brooks presenting at the public lecture. |
Rohan Botica, co-founder of DysImmune Research Aotearoa, presenting at the lecture. |
|
|
Liggins Catalyst Event Inspires High School Students
|
|
Earlier this month was Global Public Health Week, and what could be more important than inspiring our next generation of scientists interested in working in the health sector? A group of around 60 high school students from all around the Auckland region came to the Liggins Institute as part of Auckland University’s Catalyst programme. They heard from Dr Olin Silander on our newborn genomics programme to diagnose rare diseases, PhD student Ayamita Paul on how immune cells are transferred through breastmilk, and medical student Sarah Latus on taking part in our Liggins internship programme. We hope to see some of these high school students making a difference to worldwide public health one day! |
WHAKAMIHI | CONGRATULATIONS
Congratulations to doctoral candidate Caitlin Woods on being awarded a New Investigator Award for her Midwifery oral presentation at the 2025 Perinatal Society of Australia & New Zealand Congress. Caitlin's presentation was titled 'Exploring the Impact of the Maternity Care Assistant (MCA) Role on the Transition from Student to Registered Midwife in Aotearoa'.
Congratulations to Dietetics Masters student Rebecca Rodriguez, who was awarded the Bernice Kelly Award by Dietitians NZ. This award is presented to a new graduate who has shown significant academic and practical achievements throughout their postgraduate dietetic training.
Rebecca's thesis, submitted in February 2024 and supervised by Fiona Lithander and Sian Williams, investigated nutritional status and body composition in children with Cerebral Palsy in Aotearoa.
Congratulations to doctoral candidate Phyllis Ohene Agyei on winning the best oral presentation at the 10th Congress on Women’s Mental Health at the National Institute of Mental Health & Neurosciences, Bangalore, India.
