Growing up in Karitane and an enduring relationship with Otago since her days as a first year student in 1999, Professor Emma Wyeth has strong whakapapa connections to Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki and Te Rūnaka o Ōtākou. Image background digitally extended.
The University of Otago’s Professor Emma Wyeth (Kāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama, Ngāti Mutunga) has been appointed the new Chair of the Health Research Council’s (HRC) Māori Health Committee.
She replaces Professor Suzanne Pitama (Ngāti Kahungunu), the Dean of the University’s Christchurch campus, who has been in the role for eight years.
Professor Wyeth, the Director of Otago’s Ngāi Tahu Māori Health Research Unit, says she is grateful for the appointment and acknowledges the mahi her predecessor and other members of Council have put into embedding Māori health advancement at the HRC.
“Having previously served on the Council for seven years, finishing in 2022, I look forward to rejoining as Chair and playing my part in keeping the momentum going.
“The Council has been committed to supporting Māori health research and researchers, and I wanted to thank Professor Pitama especially for her fantastic mahi and dedication to this kaupapa.”
She says she is glad to be working with one of the leading research funders in the sector, which prioritises Māori research in tangible ways which she herself has benefitted from.
The recipient of both a Māori Career Development Award and project funding from the HRC, Professor Wyeth hopes being made Chair of the Māori Health Committee will enable her to give back to the organisation that has made much of her career possible.
Over the 22 years she’s spent at Otago’s Christchurch campus, Professor Suzanne Pitama has contributed extensively to teaching, research and other service roles, with her main focus being minimising the inequities in Māori health.
Professor Pitama says she fondly looks back on the many years she contributed to the HRC and subsequently Māori research.
She’s notably proud of the launch and implementation of the Māori Health Advancement guidelines which are now a part of the HRC’s grant assessment process.
These guidelines are a “huge milestone” as they demonstrate the proactive steps the HRC is taking to support Māori health research, she says.
“Working with the HRC Equity Manager and team, Māori Health Manager, and the Council to support the implementation of these guidelines was a great achievement not only for us, but for the Māori researchers and communities we know this will affect.
“It’s a project I was glad to have been actively involved in, but there were also many other pieces of work that made it worth adding extra two years to my term to make sure each task was completed well.”
She says she’s excited to support the next season of leadership and looks forward to what the Council might do in the future.
“The Māori Health Committee is an amazing vehicle to support our health researchers and I wish Professor Wyeth all the best as its new Chair, having no doubt she’ll bring her valuable past experience into this role to build on the good work that is already happening there.”
-Kōrero by the Division of Health Science Communications Adviser Kelsey Schutte.