North Shore (09) 486 8900
Waitakere (09) 839 0000

Clinical Research Groups

Health and medical research is recognised worldwide as being integral to quality health care systems. Te Whatu Ora - Waitematā, as the largest and fastest growing Te Whatu Ora - Health NZ district in the country, has a number of research groups involved in collaborative clinical trials and innovative research.

Listed below are groups actively researching. Click on the group name for more information. Contact details are included, where available. Alternatively enquiries can be directed to research@waitematadhb.govt.nz .

Main areas of research

Pain neurophysiology, personalised pain medicine, postoperative delerium, postoperative orthostatic intolerance, rehabilitation for chronic pain, complex regional pain syndrome.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Debbie Bean
  • Dr Daniel Chiang
  • Dr Lindsay Gray
  • Dr Michal Kluger
  • Dr Manson Ku
  • Dr David Rice
  • Dr Nav Sidhu
  • Dr Natalie Tuck
  • Dr Catherine White

Waitematā Pain Services has strong research and teaching ties with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Health and Rehabilitation Research Institute.

Contacts (office hours only)

  • Seema Vinish, CNS Quality Improvement & Research, 09 486 8920 ext 44941 or 021 679 553,  seema.vinish@waitematadhb.govt.nz
  • Monica Skarin, Senior Research Officer, 027 873 2708,  monica.skarin@waitematadhb.govt.nz
  • Dr Matt Kang, Research Officer, 021 199 6985, woo-jin.kang@waitematadhb.govt.nz
  • Jill Collier, Senior Research Officer, 09 486 8920 ext 48944 or 021 031 4757,  jill.collier@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Cholesterol management, heart failure treatment, coronary artery disease treatment, atrial fibrillation treatment.

Lead investigators

  • Dr Colin Edwards
  • Dr Patrick Gladding
  • Dr Tony Scott
  • Dr Andrew To

Contacts (office hours only)

Enquiries to the Cardiology Research Unit coordinator Grainne McAnnalley or Cathy Hulbert on (09) 4868920 ext 43501 or text 021 178 9971, email grainne.mcannalley@waitematadhb.govt.nz or cathy.hulbert@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Community acquired pneumonia, intravenous fluid therapy, community cardiac arrest, antibiotic therapy.

Lead investigators

  • Dr Jonathan Casement
  • Dr Robert Everitt
  • Dr Ywain Lawrey
  • Dr Janet Liang
  • Dr Lesley Maher
  • Dr Duncan Reid

Contact

  • Hina Karim, ICU Research CNS, email icuresearch@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Diabetes research into novel therapeutic treatments in people with Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes for glucose control, cholesterol and weight management as well as diabetes renal disease.

Lead investigators

  • Dr Michelle Choe
  • Dr Catherine McNamara
  • Dr Carl Peters
  • Dr Simon Young

Contact (office hours only)

  • Narrinder Shergill, Clinical Nurse Specialist, email narrinder.shergill@waitematadhb.govt.nz , phone 021 453579

Main areas of research

Simulation based learning, epilepsy, family violence interventions, systems research, positive psychology and wellbeing, adverse events in ED, discrimination, equity, access to mental health care.

Lead investigator

  • Dr Johanne Egan
  • Dr Andrew Ewens
  • Dr Kim Yates

Contact

Enquries to the Director of Emergency Medicine Research, kim.yates@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Frailty: quality and provision of care in residential aged care; retirement villages and their residents – epidemiology, morbidity, service use; diverticular disease; driving in older people; vital signs remote monitoring; medicines optimisation in older people; multiple comorbidity

Lead Investigators
  • Dr Katherine Bloomfield

 

Main areas of research

Malignant haematology, lymphoma, myeloma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Castlemans disease.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Sophie Leitch (lead Research)
  • Dr Anna Elinder Camburn
  • Dr Eileen Merriman
  • Dr Merit Hanna
  • Dr Tom Sapsford
  • Dr Steven Shih, Research Fellow

Contact

  • Francisca Reed, Haematology Research Manager, email francisca.reed@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Diabetic foot infections, endocarditis, home parenteral antibiotics (OPIVA), surgical site infections in colorectal and orthopedic surgery, Clostridium difficile, COVID-19 and Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Nick Gow
  • Dr Hasan Bhally

Contact

Enquiries to hasan.bhally@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Coronary artery disease, invasive coronary diagnostic tests and therapy, novel devices, cutting edge technologies and pharmacotherapies for use in percutaneous cardiovascular interventions.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Guy Armstrong
  • Dr Seif El-Jack
  • Dr Tim Glenie
  • Dr Ali Khan
  • Dr Bernard Wong

Contact (office hours only)

  • Hector Gonzales, Research Co-ordinator, email hector.gonzales@waitematadhb.govt.nz , phone 021 777 560

Tino Rangahau

The centre of Māori Health Research Excellence leads and collaborates with other researchers and research teams to address Māori health equity, the Tiriti o Waitangi being at the core of the Centre’s activities.

Main areas of research

The Centre has a broad research mandate focusing primarily on mātauranga and tikanga Māori, and health equity. Through collaboration and partnerships the Centre is involved in cancer, cardiology, diabetes, child and women’s health, mental health, and genetics and genomic research projects.

Lead Investigators

  • Dame Rangimarie Naida Glavish
  • Dr Jonathan Koea
  • Dr Helen Wihongi

Contact

Enquiries to the Director of Māori Health Research, email hkwresearch@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Clinical Psychiatry & Addiction

Alcohol and drug behaviour interventions, neuroimaging, neurodevelopmental disorders, depressive disorder, psychoendocrinology.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Vicki Macfarlane
  • Dr Wayne Miles
  • Dr Frederick Sundram

Contact

Enquiries to research@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Forensic Mental Health

We provide services at the interface between mental health and the criminal justice system, in the courts, prisons, community and secure hospital contexts.  We welcome research to improve services and outcomes for service users, in all these domains.

Contact (office hours only)

  • Prof Brian McKenna, phone 021 100 093 or email brian.mckenna@aut.ac.nz

Main areas of research

Hip, knee and shoulder arthroscopy, joint replacement, prevention of surgical site infection, robotic surgical techniques.

Lead Investigators

  • Mr Ali Bayan
  • Mr Robert Elliot
  • Mr Bill Farrington
  • Mr Peter Poon
  • Mr Robert Sharp

  • Mr Rupert Van Rooyen
  • Mr Matt Walker
  • Dr Min Yee Seow
  • Mr Simon Young

Contact (office hours only)

  • Nina Zeng, Research Coordinator, email Nina.Zeng@waitematadhb.govt.nz
  • Idah Chatindiara, Research Coordinator (Mr Poon only), email Idah.Chatindiara@waitematadhb.govt.nz
  • Mei Lin Tay, Research Coordinator, email MeiLin.Tay@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Swallowing disorders in adults and children, voice disorders, aging effects on swallowing physiology, impact of dysphagia on health care systems, surgical management of voice and swallow disorders, complex and acute airway management, spasmodic and neurogenic voice disorders, translational research in laryngology, engineering approaches to model swallowing physiology, reflux disease management, in office therapies and diagnostics, impact of head and neck cancer on swallowing function, osteoradionecrosis of the jaw following head and neck cancer treatment, instrumental assessment of swallowing and optimizing quantitative swallowing metrics (videofluoroscopy, endoscopy and manometry), laser therapies for laryngeal disease.

Lead Investigators

• Dr Jacqueline Allen, Laryngologist

Contact

• email jacqueline.allen@waitematadhb.govt.nz or jeallen@voiceandswallow.co.nz

Main areas of research

Screening programmes, mHealth interventions, smoking cessation, diabetes self-management, Māori health gain, employment for people with serious mental illness.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Karen Bartholomew
  • Dr Robyn Whittaker, Institute for Innovation & Improvement (i3)

Contact

Enquiries to research@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Chronic kidney disease, end stage renal failure, post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis (PSGN)

Lead Investigator

  • Dr Naveed Ahmed
  • Dr Janak de Zoysa
  • Dr Emad Maher

 

Main areas of research

Osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), stroke outcomes.

Lead Investigators

  • Dr Nicholas Child
  • Dr Kristine Ng
  • Dr Joe Singh

Contact

  • Sue Austin, Research Nurse, email StarUnit@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Adults: oro-pharyngeal dysphagia in adults, aphasia, apraxia of speech, dysphagia and communication problems following head and neck cancer, dysarthria and alternative augmentative communication use in adults

Paediatrics: neonatal/paediatric feeding and swallowing, cleft palate, early communication in children with complex disabilities

Contact

• Becca Hammond, Professional Clinical Leader SLT, email becca.hammond@waitematadhb.govt.nz
• Catherine Owen, Clinical Leader SLT, Child Health Services, email catherine.owen@waitematadhb.govt.nz

Main areas of research

Upper gastrointestinal, bariatric, breast, colorectal, neuroendocrine and carcinoid tumours, melanoma and skin cancer, bio banking.

Lead Investigators

  • Mr Michael Booth
  • Mr Richard Harman
  • Mr Mike Hulme-Moir
  • Mr Jonathan Koea
  • Mr Richard Martin
  • Dr Mike McCrystal Oncologist
  • Mr Siraj Rajaratnam

Contact (office hours only)

  • Sherry Nisbet, Surgical Research Nurse Specialist, phone 09 4868920 ext 47233 or sherry.nisbet@waitematadhb.govt.nz