Kia orana tatou katoa!
My name is Cam, and I was born and raised in the beautiful Hawke's Bay. I am doing my Honours after completing my undergrad in Anatomy and Pacific Islands Studies last year. My home is the Centre for Neuroendocrinology (CNE) and I have the pleasure of being supervised by Dr Sharon Ladyman and Professor Dave Grattan.
Cam in the Centre for Neuroendocrinology laboratory.
Cam pictured above.
The kaupapa of CNE is to investigate the relationship between hormones and the brain, and how this may change during different processes like ageing, metabolic regulation or pregnancy. What drew me into the Centre was how it views the body as a holistic, complex organism. Sure, we use neurobiology to understand how some components may function or interact, but we always recognise the limitations of our knowledge and technologies.
I am specifically looking at hormones during pregnancy and how their activity changes throughout the gestational period. We know that a large number of Polynesian peoples have a variant of the CREBRF gene (called 'R458Q') that influences their metabolism, compared to the normal (or 'wild-type') CREBRF gene. So, how does this gene variant work at a biological level? What influence does this gene variant have on metabolism during pregnancy? Could this gene variant be the key to understanding how to better treat, and hopefully prevent, metabolic disorders? My project aims to shed light on some of these questions.
It is a privilege to be studying at a university that supports my intersectional identity as an emerging researcher, Pacific person, queer individual and (poor) student. I'm so privileged to be doing 'hard-core' biomedical science that also benefits my Pacific community – it proves that you don't need to compromise your identity when stepping into academia, but can research something that enhances all aspects of your self.
Cam and his siblings (From Left: Ruban, Hannah and Kayla) enjoying the Dunedin running tracks.
I have incredible mentors who have enabled this, so many thanks to my supervisors past and present for believing in me and always pushing me to better my best. A few pieces of advice for prospective students and researchers: [1] Step into this space as yourself, fully and completely, so that you can give everything your best shot possible, [2] the 'right' supervisor is someone who will enhance who you are, not who they think you should be, and [3] start saving your money now, because you'll need it for late-night snack runs while writing your thesis.
He mana tō te mātauranga - knowledge is strength.
Meitaki ma'ata e kia manuia.