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Liggins Link—June 2025
Kia ora koutou,
Welcome to the June Liggins Link. This month, we feature the Sunday Magazine profile of Professor Katie Groom. The interview discusses her mission to improve preterm birth care and outcomes across Aotearoa, as well as the work of the Carosika Collaborative. I encourage you to take a look.
Congratulations to our recent Liggins graduates—Dr Esther Caljé (PhD), Dr Peg Lockyer (PhD), and Nour Abughazala (MHSc, in absentia). In our news stories, you can read more about Esther and Peg’s research and student journeys.
We also congratulate Professor Paul Hofman on being awarded the 2025 Outstanding International Clinician Award at the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology, a prestigious recognition of his contributions to the field.
Finally, congratulations to two of our generous donors —Wayne Boyd and Wayne Wright—who have been recognised on this year's King’s Birthday Honours list. Their individual commitment to supporting cutting-edge research is enabling the institute to lead the way in understanding the impacts of events throughout pregnancy and early life on the health and well-being of mothers, fathers and children.
Ngā mihi nui
Justin
Professor Justin O'Sullivan
Director, Liggins Institute,
Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland
PITOPITO KŌRERO | NEWS
Inside Dr Katie Groom’s fight for New Zealand’s premature babies
Image credit: Ricky Wilson / Stuff.
More than 4500 babies arrive early in New Zealand each year, but Dr Katie Groom says that’s a number that needs to change. She tells Bridget Jones of the Sunday Magazine why she’s on a mission to shine a spotlight on those very first days and weeks of our most vulnerable pēpi. Read the interview at the link below.
Midwife’s pioneering PhD promotes evidence-based post-birth anaemia care
Image credit: Rebecca Claridge.
A senior New Zealand midwife is waiting for news on funding the next stage of her groundbreaking research into treating new mothers with anaemia.
Esther Caljé remembers the moment in her career when her interest was piqued in intravenous (IV) iron. It was 2011 and she was working at Christchurch Women’s Hospital in the post-caesarean recovery area and a doctor prescribed IV iron for a woman after birth.
“I didn’t know about it and neither did my colleagues. I found guidelines on the intranet for an older iron formulation, but when I audited our IV iron use I found we hardly ever used it.”
ME/Chronic fatigue syndrome: The illness trapping people in their bodies
Screenshot from "ME/Chronic fatigue syndrome: The mysterious illness trapping people in their bodies"
Dr Anna Brooks, Senior Research Fellow at the Liggins Institute, was interviewed for an awareness documentary by Re: News about Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME), also known as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
Misinformation from decades ago, which claimed ME/CFS was psychological rather than a neurological disease, has resulted in stigma that still impacts the care of patients today. Dr Brooks, a ME and Long Covid researcher, is leading a study to develop a blood test that detects immune dysfunction. She says,
“This will help us understand why a virus can cause ME and help validate the condition.”
Watch the documentary to learn more about the realities of ME/CFS and why this research is so important.
From monkey bars to a PhD: a bold leadership journey
Liggins Institute PhD graduate Peg Lockyer hated skirts, loved sport and thrived in leadership roles. Her research focused on how school-aged children can get active and be leaders too.
Newly-capped Peg Lockyer has been a strong advocate for physical activity, education and justice, but it’s not always been an easy ride.
As a six-year-old in the early 1970s she pushed to wear shorts not skirts at school so she could swing on the monkey bars, and as a national canoeing champion she faced a sporting body whose leadership was later exposed as rife with bullying and harassment, particularly for women.
Congratulations to our latest Liggins graduates
Associate Professor Jo Perry, Dr Peg Lockyer and Dr Esther Caljé at the graduation afternoon tea.
Congratulations to our newest Liggins Institute graduates—Dr Esther Caljé (PhD), Dr Peg Lockyer (PhD) and Nour Abughazala (MHSc in absentia). Well done! Your perseverance and commitment have paid off.
Graduates Dr Peg Lockyer and Dr Esther Caljé at the Liggins Institute graduation celebration with family, staff and students.
Liggins Institute PhD graduate, Peg Lockyer. 
Liggins Institute Director Professor Justin O'Sullivan congratulates Peg. |
Liggins Institute PhD graduate, Esther Caljé . 
Esther with one of her PhD supervisors, Professor Katie Groom. |
NGĀ KAUPAPA NUI | EVENTS
UN Youth NZ—Inspiring Changemakers
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During April, high school students from around Aotearoa gathered for four days to develop the Aotearoa Youth Declaration—a policy document representing the voices of young people on the most pressing issues facing Aotearoa today. Organised by UN Youth NZ, the four-day workshop included a visit to the Liggins Institute to hear all about our work focused on mums’ and babies’ health. Our presenters, Dr Caroline Walker, PhD student Ayamita Paul, Dr Mark Vickers, and Dr Theo Portlock, spoke about preterm babies, our immune responses, translating research into clinical practice, and the black box of AI. |
Catalyst Pacific Event—Nurturing tomorrow's superstars, innovators, and researchers
PhD student Melenaite Tohi presenting at the Liggins Institute's Catalyst Pacific event.
Last month, a group of around 30 Year 12 Pacific students from across Auckland visited the Liggins Institute to learn about careers in health research. PhD student Melenaite Tohi discussed her journey, which began with migrating to Aotearoa from Tonga for high school, followed by a BSc and an MSc in chemistry, and culminated in her PhD project at the Liggins Institute. She urged them all to consider doing a PhD one day. The students also heard about health research projects from Professor Mark Vickers, Dr Suzanne Trask and Dr Caroline Walker. The talk was part of the University's Catalyst Pacific programme.
Students at the Liggins Institute's Catalyst Pacific event.
NZMA Manukau students visit the Liggins Institute
NZMA Manukau students visiting the Liggins Institute.
How to incorporate research into a clinical career was one of the key takeaways for some NZMA Manukau students who visited the Liggins Institute in May. They also heard about immune responses in babies, AI in Health and brain development in preterm babies from Liggins Institute Director Professor Justin O’Sullivan, Dr Theo Portlock, Dr Caroline Walker and PhD student Ayamita Paul. The NZMA students are currently undertaking a 20-week health course, and most of them plan to enrol in a bachelor’s degree in nursing or midwifery. We hope some of them join our research teams one day!
WHAKAMIHI | CONGRATULATIONS
King’s Birthday Honours List
Two of the Liggins Institute’s generous donors—Wayne Boyd and Wayne Wright— have been recognised on this year's King’s Birthday Honours list.
Congratulations to Wayne Boyd, who is to be appointed a Companion of The New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to business, philanthropy and sport. Mr Boyd has been a Trustee of the Boyd Clark Foundation since 2011, which has provided multi-year support for the Liggins Institute.
Congratulations to Wayne Wright, who is to be appointed an Officer of The New Zealand Order of Merit (ONZM) for services to education and philanthropy. In 2014, Mr Wright and his late wife, Chloe, established the Wright Family Foundation, which has distributed $50 million in charitable funds to support education, the arts, and social programmes in the past decade.
Congratulations to Professor Paul Hofman on being awarded the 2025 Outstanding International Clinician Award at the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology.
Congratulations to Anthony Walters on successfully defending his PhD oral exam earlier this month. His PhD will be awarded without any revisions required to his thesis.
Anthony’s research examined the long-term impacts of antenatal exposure to corticosteroids on health outcomes and involved following up the now 50-year-old participants of the Auckland Steroid Trial. During his PhD, Anthony also produced five first-author papers published in high-impact journals. He was supervised by Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding.
Congratulations to Melenaite Tohi, who successfully defended her PhD thesis at her oral examination earlier this month. Her PhD will be awarded without further revisions to her thesis.
Mele’s PhD thesis was titled “Adolescents as catalysts of change for a better future: Adolescent awareness and understanding of concepts related to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)”. Her research was supervised by Professor Mark Vickers and Dr Siobhan Tu’akoi, with Dr Ofa Dewes as Advisor. Mele’s work has resulted in four first-author papers, with more on the way.
