$1.8 million gift benefits research centres

The University of Auckland has been gifted $1.8 million by the Aotearoa Foundation to support postdoctoral fellowships at the Auckland Bioengineering Institute and the Centre for Brain Research.

The Aotearoa Foundation was founded by US philanthropist Julian Robertson.

The gift will fund one new three-year fellowship at the Institute and one at the Centre each year.

The Auckland Bioengineering Institute applies the mathematical and engineering sciences to biology and human physiology. It aims to improve understanding of physiological processes and the diagnosis and treatment of injury or disease. It is led by Professor Peter Hunter who was awarded New Zealand’s top science honour, the Rutherford Medal, in 2009.

He developed the world’s first anatomically based computer model of the human heart in 1996 and has a leading role in the major international Physiome Project, which is building sophisticated computer models of all the body’s organs.

The Centre for Brain Research, a partnership between scientists, doctors and the community, seeks to find and develop new treatments for neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. It is led by Professor Richard Faull whose research spans 35 years and encompasses all major regions of the brain and spinal cord.

Julian Robertson said today the Aotearoa Foundation was proud to provide support to both research facilities which had achieved results with far-reaching potential.

“This support will see this important, globally-acknowledged work continue in New Zealand, attracting the postdoctoral talent which will contribute to its advancement.”

The University’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Stuart McCutcheon, says the donation is a “tremendous step forward” in the University’s “Leading the Way” fundraising campaign which to date has raised more than $71 million.

“Both the Institute and the Centre are engaged in pioneering research to improve the health prospects of people not only in New Zealand but throughout the world. The postdoctoral fellowships which are being created will attract and retain talented young researchers who might otherwise take up opportunities overseas.”