Graduated from Massey University and undertook post doctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the University of Cambridge before gaining a tenured position at University College London. Moved back to New Zealand in 2004. Research is in the broad area of signal transduction with a particular focus on type-2 diabetes, obesity and cancer. The lab encourages a collaborative approach with research groups across New Zealand and overseas to make the most of our research programmes. The main research current areas are (i) identifying new combinations of old drugs targeting signal transduction pathways to get improved efficacy in treating cancer, (ii) developing new drugs aimed at improving the efficacy of immunotherapies for cancer (iii) developing novel weight loss drugs  (iv) investigating mechanisms controlling the secretion of insulin from ß-cells and (v) understanding how genetic factors can be used to improve prevention and treatment strategies for metabolic diseases such as type-2 diabetes in Māori and Pacific peoples. The lab also has a strong focus on scientific outreach. One avenue for this is understanding how we can link our research with high schools to make our research have impact on science education in this country. The research part of this is the "Sugar in Schools" study which is a study where students and teachers do the experiment themselves using a hydrogen breathalyser to assess levels of fructose intolerance in New Zealand school children. This is designed to provide a real world investigation that will engage students with science and also improve health literacy. Another important area of outreach has been in development of research collaborations and partnerships with Māori and Pacific communities to develop precision medicine approaches tailored for Māori and Pacific patients. Translational research is also an important focus and Pathway Therapeutics and Symansis are two companies that have spun out from the lab 

Distinctions/Honours:
-Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand
-Callaghan Medal of Royal Society of NZ 

Qualifications: BSc(Hons) Massey , PhD Massey

Areas of Expertise:
-Discovery and development of new drugs to treat cancer and other diseases
-Cancer biology
-Diabetes and Obesity

Media Keywords: Diabetes, obesity, cancer, cancer drugs

Lab affiliations

- Maurice Wilkins Centre (http://cmb1.auckland.ac.nz/)
- Waharoa ki te Toi Research Centre (https://www.themokofoundation.com/wkkt.html) in Kaitaia