Faculty of Biomedical Sciences at Otago

03/06/2026

What if you could grow potatoes from seeds instead of tubers?

A research team led by Biochemistry Research Fellow Rowan Herridge, Associate Professor Lynette Brownfield and Professor Richard Macknight has developed a biotech innovation to help breeders create stronger crops and improve hard-to-breed species, supporting a more sustainable future for farming.

Read more about the innovative work here

What if you could grow potatoes from seeds instead of tubers?

02/06/2026

One Otago research alliance is determined to bridge the gap between research and real-world application for the rare disease community.

Around 300,000 New Zealanders and their whānau are thought to be impacted by one or more of over 7,000 known rare disorders.

Research Alliance for Rare Illness Translational Pathways (RARITY) Director Professor Stephanie Hughes and Co-Director Māori Research Fellow Dr Luke Wilson say the biggest challenge for the rare disease community is not the lack of expertise, but the lack of coordinated pathways to impact.

RARITY, one of 14 Otago research themes funded in 2024, was established specifically to address this gap.
Read more here

One Otago research alliance is determined to bridge the gap between research and real-world application for the rare disease community.

25/05/2026

Can a new advance in conservation genomic technologies from researchers in the United States be another step towards bringing the moa back?

Department of Biochemistry researcher Professor Peter Dearden doesn’t think so.

Read Peter's analysis of the latest de-extinction claims here

NZ experts laud the engineering but dismiss true de-extinction as impossible.

18/05/2026

From helping the fight against tuberculosis to representing New Zealand in sport and creating lifelong connections along the way, Catrin Ogilvie (Te Arawa, Ngāti Awa) has a lot to be proud of in her time at the University of Otago – Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka.

Catrin graduated with a Bachelor of Sciences with Honours in Microbiology on 16 May, the moment being extra special as her twin sister Alex received a Bachelor of Arts and Science on the same day.

Working with Associate Professor Htin Ling Aung, Catrin’s honours project focused on a variant of tuberculosis. Htin says Catrin was an outstanding student, her academic excellence matched by a strong commitment to addressing health inequities within Māori communities.

Read more about Catrin and Alex’s story here
https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/double-celebrations-for-twin-graduates

14/05/2026

Sequencing the hoiho yellow-eyed penguin genome is telling us something sobering: the mainland hoiho is rapidly running out of time.

A just-published genomic analysis led by Jemma Geoghegan from Otago’s Faculty of Biomedical Sciences reveals the hoiho is not a single population.

By sequencing the genomes of 249 mainland and sub-Antarctic penguins, they discovered there are actually three distinct lineages. The mainland birds diverged from the southern populations between 5,000 and 16,000 years ago, long before humans arrived in New Zealand.

In partnership with Ngāi Tahu, it is proposed that three species be recognised:
• hoiho murihiku: mainland and Rakiura hoiho
• hoiho motu maha: Auckland Islands hoiho
• hoiho motu ihupuku: Campbell Island hoiho

Jemma warns without immediate intervention, one of those subspecies could vanish within decades. Read more here https://theconversation.com/why-the-race-to-save-these-cherished-penguins-just-became-more-urgent-282579

Read the full paper published in Nature ecology and evolution here https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-026-03062-w

12/05/2026

Congratulations to Lauren Jelly, who graduated in the weekend with a PhD in Genomic Epidemiology.

Lauren’s dedication to tracking viral infection in New Zealand over the last few years could boost the country’s pandemic preparedness. Working with Professor Jemma Geoghegan from the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, she has been studying the introductions, transmission and circulation of influenza and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), with an aim to guide public health policy.

Read about how Lauren juggled study with work and family through her PhD journey here https://www.otago.ac.nz/news/newsroom/keeping-aotearoa-ahead-of-future-pandemics

11/05/2026

GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Wegovy are helping New Zealanders with weight loss. Now there's emerging evidence to suggest that they can curb consumption of all addictive substances - things like ni****ne and alcohol.

Dr Robert Munn, Director of Neuroscience at Otago’s Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, has been studying what's going on in the brain to explain this effect. Listen to RNZ Nights to find out more about this, and Robert’s research on the hippocampus https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/nights/audio/2019033764/what-if-ozempic-could-do-more-than-just-weight-loss

Robert’s study was recently published in Biology https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.04.19.719508v1

04/05/2026

03/05/2026

Thinking about your next big adventure? Hear from the University of Otago’s Vice-Chancellor, Grant Robertson, as he welcomes you to explore all that Otago ha...