Otago alumna Dr Sainimere Boladuadua receiving her scholarship certificate at the Fulbright awards ceremony last week, with the United States Consul General Sarah Nelson, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Honorary Chair of Fulbright NZ, Rt Hon Winston Peters.
Ngā mihi nui to Otago alumna Dr Sainimere Boladuadua who has been awarded a prestigious Fulbright Science and Innovation Graduate Scholarship.
Sai graduated with an MBChB from Otago in 2002, a Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynaecology from the Fiji School of Medicine in 2006 and a Master of Public Health (Distinction) from Otago in 2011. She is a Fellow of the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine and is currently studying for her PhD at Waipapa Taumata Rau, the University of Auckland.
While on her Fulbright Scholarship in the United States, Sai will work with Native American communities to better understand healthcare access and experiences of families of children with acute respiratory infections. She will be based at the Johns Hopkins University’s Centre of Indigenous Health.
Sai, who received her scholarship certificate at the Fulbright awards ceremony in Wellington last week, says she is “thrilled, overwhelmed and extremely grateful” to have been awarded the scholarship.
“As a Fijian and Pasifika woman, I represent my family, my villages, my vanua, I carry all of them with me. All my work, my achievements are a reflection on them.
“I am acutely aware of the privilege of being able to access this opportunity, it’s something I don’t take lightly. With this privilege comes an obligation to use the amazing opportunities afforded to me such as this Fulbright award to make a contribution to the society in which I live, which spans both Aotearoa NZ and the Pacific.”
While at Johns Hopkins, Sai hopes to broaden and deepen her knowledge and experience of indigenous health research. Her research objectives are to learn different methods, methodologies, and theories relating to the different ways Native American peoples work with their communities, as both insider and outsider researchers and practitioners, in order to improve access to health.
“One of the main goals of this research exchange is to explore how indigenous and western knowledge and health practices can be used in a complementary way to improve access to healthcare and health outcomes,” she says.
“Working and learning from experts in Native American, Indigenous Health and Infectious Diseases, areas of expertise that are for example, all present at the Johns Hopkins Centre for Indigenous Health, is an invaluable element of this exchange.”
Dr Mei Peng, senior lecturer in the Department of Food Science, received a Fulbright New Zealand 2024 NZ Scholar Award
Sai came to Dunedin from Fiji after leaving school, on a Fiji government scholarship, with the purpose of becoming a doctor to serve her people.
“Otago University was a formative influence in my higher education and academic journey to date. I loved the sense of community we have at Otago, that continues with the vast alumni network in the Pacific and here in Aotearoa NZ.
“One of my mentors currently at the University of Auckland, Prof Cameron Grant, is an Otago Medical School alumnus as well as a Fulbright alumnus. He encouraged me to apply for this Fulbright scholarship and made the connections with his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University, which led to the start of this exchange. I am extremely grateful for the Otago community!”
After completing her medical degree, Sai worked clinically in New Zealand and Fiji. In her PhD, she is investigating access to healthcare, using childhood acute respiratory infections as the disease of focus. Her thesis includes quantitative and qualitative methodological components applied to studies being conducted in Fiji, and with Pacific families in New Zealand.
Sai is one of 15 recipients of this year’s New Zealand Fulbright Graduate Awards. These prestigious awards enable New Zealand graduate students to undertake postgraduate study or research at US institutions.
The awards are granted annually, valued at up to US$50,000 (plus NZ$4,000 travel funding) for up to one year of study or research in the US. Students undertaking multi-year Master’s or PhD degrees have the opportunity to apply for additional funding of up to US$40,000 towards their second year of study.
Subjects covered by this year’s cohort include film directing, stage direction, organisational behaviour, indigenous law, respiratory healthcare, and hate speech detection.
Fulbright New Zealand Executive Director Penelope Borland says the variety of disciplines on show in this year’s awards is an inspiration.
“Each and every year I am amazed by the array of research interests represented by our latest crop of Fulbright Graduates. This is both a testament to the strength of the programme, but also to the high standard of postgraduate students and scholars across Aotearoa. These impressive individuals have so much to offer the world, and we are thrilled to be helping them on their way,” says Penelope.
Earlier this year, Dr Mei Peng, a senior lecturer in the Department of Food Science, received a Fulbright New Zealand 2024 NZ Scholar Award. She will split her time between the University of California, Davis, and Washington State University, Pullman, where she will study parental decision-making on plant-based food choices.