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Prof Suetonia Green profile imageMB ChB (Otago) PhD (Otago) FRACP FRSNZ

Email suetonia.green@otago.ac.nz
Tel +64 3 244 1013

Dean's Department
Dunedin School of Medicine
University of Otago

PO Box 56
Dunedin 9054
New Zealand

Current roles

  • Distinguished Professor (2025-2028), University of Otago
  • Dean, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago
  • Associate Dean (Medical Admissions), Otago Medical School

Research interests

Professor Green is an academic kidney specialist who conducts large-scale clinical trials and meta-analysis and qualitative research about improving the health outcomes for people affected by kidney conditions.

Her current research focus is on identifying treatments that improve health and wellbeing, and healthcare quality and delivery across Aotearoa NZ and globally. She trained at the Dunedin School of Medicine at Otago Medical School and completed her PhD with the Christchurch Heart Institute, before completing her post-doctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston.

Suetonia is a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ) in recognition of the high impact of her research. She leads multiple clinical trials in collaboration with Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora and currently leads three HRC project grants. She has >200 peer-reviewed publications and an h-index of 65, including publications in the New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, JAMA, BMJ, and Annals of Internal Medicine.

Suetonia has received numerous major awards for her research including the L’Oreal For Women in Science fellowship, a Rutherford Discovery Fellowship, the University of Otago Carl Smith Medal and Rowheath Trust award, a Research Gold Medal at the University of Otago, Christchurch, and the Don and Lorraine Jacquot Fellowship from the Royal Australasian College of Physicians.

She is a practicing kidney specialist at Christchurch Hospital, specialising in paediatric transition, palliative care, and home-based dialysis. She completed her specialist training and FRACP in 2005.

Professor Green serves the University as Deputy Dean at the University of Otago, Christchurch and as Associate Dean (Medical Admissions). She is a member of the new National Renal Clinical Network for the Ministry of Health and has served as the Chair of the NZ Nephrology Group and President Elect of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Nephrology. She is a member of the Health Research Council Data Monitoring Core Committee, overseeing the safety and integrity of trials funded by the HRC. Suetonia is a member of the Otago Medical Curriculum Committee and is leading work on a new digital platform to support clinical activity observation in Advanced Learning in Medicine.

Suetonia currently supervises seven research students in the BMedSci(Hons), Masters, and PhD programmes at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Some of her current research projects are:

  • National Chief Investigator for the IMPEDE-PKD randomised controlled trial of metformin to protect kidney function in people with polycystic kidney disease (HRC project grant; $1.4m)
  • National Chief Investigator for the PHOSPHATE trial to evaluate whether treatment to lower blood phosphate levels improves survival for people treated with dialysis (HRC project grant; $1.4m)
  • National Chief Investigator for the TEACH-PD trial of a curriculum to train patients in peritoneal dialysis (HRC project grant; $1.4m)
  • Principal Investigator (PI) for the Improving symptom management for people with advanced chronic kidney disease (HRC Health Services Research activation grant)

Clinical trials

The IMPEDE-PKD trial

The IMPEDE-PKD trial is a clinical study looking at whether metformin (a medication currently used in diabetes and polycystic ovary syndrome) protects kidney function for people with polycystic kidney disease. The IMPEDE-PKD trial is currently underway in New Zealand and is funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand.

Watch a video about the trial

Teaching

  • Co-convenor, 6th year programme Hauora Māori
  • Teacher, 4th year programme, Hauora Māori orientation wānanga

Affiliations

  • Royal Society of New Zealand
  • Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology
  • Scientific Programme and Awards Committee, Australia and New Zealand Society of Nephrology
  • Australasian Kidney Trials Network

Publications

Vernooij, R. W. M., Hockham, C., Strippoli, G., Green, S., Hegbrant, J., Davenport, A., … on behalf of the CONVINCE Scientific Committee, & the HDF Pooling Project Investigators. (2024). Haemodiafiltration versus haemodialysis for kidney failure: An individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. Lancet, 404, 1742-1749. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(24)01859-2 Journal - Research Article

Selvathesan, N., Han, D. Y., Palmer, S. C., Dickens, A., Manley, P., & Prestidge, C. (2024). Graft loss in pediatric and young adult kidney transplantation in New Zealand: Who is at greatest risk and when? Pediatric Transplantation, 28, e14873. doi: 10.1111/petr.14873 Journal - Research Article

Landers, A., Pitama, S. G., Green, S. C., & Beckert, L. (2024). Policy, system and service design influence on healthcare inequities for people with end-of-life chronic obstructive airways disease, their support people and health professionals. BMC Health Services Research, 24, 1190. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11705-6 Journal - Research Article

St Pierre, K., Cashmore, B. A., Bolignano, D., Zoccali, C., Ruospo, M., Craig, J. C., … Green, S. C., & Tunnicliffe, D. J. (2024). Interventions for preventing the progression of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease [Review]. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (10), CD010294. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD010294.pub3 Journal - Research Article

Di Molfetta, S., Di Gioia, L., Caruso, I., Cignarelli, A., Green, S. C., Natale, P., … Giorgino, F. (2024). Efficacy and safety of different hybrid closed loop systems for automated insulin delivery in people with type 1 diabetes: A systematic review and network meta-analysis. Diabetes/Metabolism Research & Reviews, 40, e3842. doi: 10.1002/dmrr.3842 Journal - Research Article

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