Top researchers elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
Wed Oct 26 2016 13:00:00 GMT+1300 (New Zealand Daylight Time)
Top researchers elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand
26 October 2016
Ten leading researchers from the University of Auckland were among 19 New Zealanders elected as Fellows of the Royal Society of New Zealand today.
The honours, which recognise international distinction in research and scholarship, resulted in a diverse range of new Fellows at the University.
“We congratulate all of our new Fellows for this recognition of their standing. The number and disciplinary diversity of these Fellows again demonstrates the depth and breadth of leading research carried out by the University,” says Professor Jim Metson, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research).
The new Fellows are:
- Professor Donna Rose Addis, School of Psychology, who has pioneered the use of functional brain imaging to study how the brain stores and retrieves memories in healthy subjects and those suffering from disorders such as amnesia, clinical depression, and dementia.
- Professor Rod Dunbar, School of Biological Sciences and the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, whose studies of human cellular immunology, especially T cell responses to tumours and how these T cell responses can be stimulated in cancer therapy, have accelerated the advent of successful cancer immunotherapy.
- Professor Hinke Osinga, Department of Mathematics, who is a specialist in dynamical systems theory, the mathematical analysis and prediction of behaviour that changes with time. She is at the forefront of developing and employing numerical methods for computing global objects known as invariant manifolds that are indicators of critical change or `tipping points.'
- Professor Rosalind Hursthouse, Department of Philosophy, who has had a profound impact on the field of ethics in philosophy. She has been a leading figure in the development of the approach known as virtue ethics.
- Professor Lynnette Ferguson, Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre, who is a world leader in nutritional genomics with an international reputation in mutagenesis and in the causes and control of chronic disease.
- Professor Stephen May, Te Puna Wānanga at the Faculty of Education and Social Work, who is regarded as a world authority on language rights and an international expert in the related fields of indigenous language and bilingual/immersion education and multilingualism.
- Professor Peter Shepherd, Department of Molecular Medicine & Pathology, who has made important contributions to understanding how defects in a cell signalling pathway contribute to cancer and diabetes.
- Professor Cris Shore, Department of Anthropology, who has developed new theoretical approaches and methodologies for analysing policy, power and organisations. He is internationally recognised for his work on the anthropology of policy, the EU and university reform.
- Professor Annie Goldson, Department of Film, Television & Media Studies, who is an acclaimed documentary film maker who has made a sustained contribution to humanities scholarship and film culture, forging a dialogue between these two domains.
- Professor Kathleen Campbell, School of Environment, who is at the forefront of unearthing evidence for past life in ‘extreme’ environments, thereby contributing to the search for life’s origins and bio-signatures on other planets.
The Royal Society of New Zealand offers expert advice to government and the public, recognises excellence in research and scholarship in science, technology and humanities, promotes science and technology education, publishes peer-reviewed journals, administers funds for research and fosters international scientific contact and co-operation.
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