The University of Otago's Christchurch School of Medicine and Health Sciences' 30 year expertise in free radical research will be a vital component of a new collaborative Centre of Research Excellence (CoRE), recently backed by major Government funding.
The Free Radical Research Group's involvement, as part of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development (NRCGD), will be officially launched by the Associate Minister of Education, Steve Maharey, on Wednesday October 13, at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences.
The NRCGD will investigate how events that occur around birth can cause brain injury in the new-born, and diseases that may not become evident until later in life. It will also look at the reasons behind adult neuro-degenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
It is one of seven CoRE groups set up by the Government to develop and enhance leading-edge University research, at a cost of $123 million over the next six years.
Attending this opening will be the Director of the Liggins' Institute at the University of Auckland and head of the NRCGD, Professor Peter Gluckman, and the Centre's Board. Representatives from other collaborating institutions, the University of Otago, Massey University, and AgResearch will also attend.
The Director of the Free Radical Research Group, Professor Christine Winterbourn says being chosen to be part of a New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence has been a significant boost for researchers in her team, and the University of Otago.
"It's an exciting time for us to be part of a well funded national collaborative effort in medical science, which also has clinical application. There will be powerful scientific synergies and advantages working together on vital scientific issues related to the growth and development of life," she says.