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Thank you for joining us in our shift to DysImmune Research Aotearoa.

We’re excited to announce that we were awarded a Health Delivery activation grant from the Health Research Council of New Zealand!

The grant is for us to seek partnerships and lay out the feasibility of our research, which is aimed at utilising complex technologies to develop clinically actionable diagnostic tools for Long Covid, and other post-acute infections.

On top of Dr Brooks’ cytometry expertise, we have had Professors Jeremy Nicholson and Julien Wist at Murdoch University in Perth sign on with us as investigators for this proposal. Professor Nicholson and Wist are world-class scientists, and their immunometabolic tools hold promise both in uncovering a biomarker for Long Covid, and helping to identify other onset post-COVID risks, such as diabetes and heart disease. We’re thrilled to have their support and involvement. Feel free to read about some of their work here.

As I’ve mentioned before, I have a particular focus on Māori and Pasifika health, as I’ve experienced first-hand the barriers to diagnosis with post-viral illnesses that we face. We are a demographic unique to Aotearoa, and it’s crucial that we take on this work to determine prevalence in our communities and look toward treatment. I’m excited to seek out and collaborate with organisations operating on the frontlines, so that we can increase education and awareness, and participate in cutting-edge research studies.

This grant is just a first step, but a step nonetheless, and we’re encouraged and motivated by the recognition and opportunity. Onwards from here!