EXPERTS SEARCH

My professional background is in youth mental health, originally as a clinical social worker, and later as an educator, team leader, and innovator in service development in underserved communities. I have provided mental health assessments and talking therapies in diverse communities; led and co-led the development of health services in Alternative Education, new services in youth health and justice settings, and training in professional skills for mental health and wellbeing. I am a co-developer of SPARX, a computerized cognitive behaviour therapy program publicly available in New Zealand, and have advised on the development and delivery of digital tools for mental health in Aotearoa and internationally. 

Today, I am an Associate Professor in the School of Health, where my focus is on scalable ways to improve youth health and mental health. 

I co-lead Youth19, the latest iteration of the Youth2000 survey series, and lead the Digital Mental Health Lab at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington and am a director of ISRII, the International Society for Research on Internet Interventions.

Kia ora, I am a Senior Lecturer in Health Promotion in the School of Health. I teach across the undergraduate and postgraduate health promotion programmes. In my research I explore how health and wellbeing are situated across time and place, particularly across infancy and motherhood. I am passionate about context-driven, participatory and reflexive (post-)qualitative research. I am interested in how I, as a teacher and researcher, co-create and intervene through research and teaching practices. I explore how bodies, things and place actively co-create knowledges, and how through practices we may find alternative ways of knowing and accessing knowledge. In my work I particularly draw on new materialist and posthuman theories. My teaching and research pursue approaches that challenge the status quo, and advocate for social change and equity. I have strong links to communities and NGOs to promote practice relevant research, and sit on various governance groups and editorial boards.


Current Projects

Belonging through placemaking: Healthy local geographies for new parents living in suburban Aotearoa 

Marsden Faststart: Where is my 'village'? Building a theory of belonging, place and wellbeing in contemporary motherhood
Critical posthuman and affective pedagogies
Māmā Ora—Maternal Health Promotion in Aotearoa—a platform for advocacy, collaboration and research to improve maternal health in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Ally Gibson (MRSNZ) is a senior lecturer in Health Psychology and Programme Director of Health Psychology. Ally currently holds a Marsden Fast-Start Fellowship with the Royal Society - Te Apārangi, leading research on people's experiences of mobile dating during the COVID-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand. 

She has over 10 years' experience conducting a range of qualitative research projects relating to health, illness, and the practice of medicine. Her work is interdisciplinary, bridging health psychology, the sociology of health and illness, and public health. She is particularly interested in: mobile dating and intimacy; sexual and reproductive health; issues of gender, sexuality and identity; people's experiences of and responses to pressing health challenges (e.g., cancer; COVID-19); and concerns and experiences of inequity, marginalisation, and vulnerability in health. 

Ally is currently leading three programmes of research:

• Mobile dating during the COVID-19 pandemic (Marsden Fast-Start; $300, 000)
• People's experiences of psychosocial support during cancer
• The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in qualitative research

Ally enjoys sharing knowledge and experience in conducting qualitative research in health, using critical approaches. Her particular area of expertise is in critical health psychology, with a focus on using discursive methods of analysis. She welcomes the opportunity to develop and strengthen ties to the public sector, community-led organisations, and NGOs.

Recent past projects:
- Meaningful inclusion of trans and gender diverse populations in cervical cancer screening: A pilot study, in collaboration with the University of New South Wales, Family Planning NSW, and Pash.TM (Sydney, Australia)

- A critical exploration of mobile dating in the time of COVID-19 (VUW Faculty of Health Research Establishment Grant; $5,096)

George Parker (they/them) is Pūkenga Ratoa Hauora | Senior Lecturer in Health Service Delivery in the School of Health. Prior to joining Te Herenga Waka, George taught in the School of Midwifery at Otago Polytechnic and in the School of Medicine at the University of Auckland. George is a registered kahu pōkai | midwife and has extensive experience working in the community sector in health consumer advocacy and people-centered health policy analysis and advice. 

George is a social researcher of health and health service delivery, and their work is centered around improving access to healthcare and reducing health inequities for communities on the margins. They employ predominantly qualitative approaches to develop and advance understandings of people's health subjectivites, embodiment, and experience of accesing healthcare. George's projects to date have focused on fat phobia, racial discrimination, and cis-heteronormativity in the places of care related to fertility, reproduction, and family building. They have a methodological interest in innovative qauliative approaches to develop in-depth insights into lived experience, as well as participatory and collaborative approaches to research for system transformation. Their work is te Tiriti o Waitangi informed and guided by theory-praxis of intersectionality and cultural humility.

Caz is a registered nurse who works in the academic and research field of obesity care within health systems. Her research focuses on reframing the approach to care for patients living with obesity by advocating a paradigm shift away from problematising obesity, to conceptualising and implementing accessible weight-inclusive healthcare environments for people living with obesity. She works in close collaboration with people living with obesity, their families, and communities in the development of equitable obesity care services.

In creating accessible weight-inclusive care evironments, Caz's research explores the complex interplay of patient and staff factors that impact the quality of care, patient experiences, and safety for both patients and healthcare professionals. Specialising in clinical and translational healthcare research, Caz's work examines healthcare processes, technology design, and implementation, with particular emphasis on crucial environmental and educational considerations. Her recent work includes exploring the use of virtual reality (VR) technology to develop innovative learning platforms for healthcare professionals caring for people living with obesity.

Caz was recently awarded the University Research Impact Award for her obesity health services work which has delivered a proven contribution to health care practices. She recieved the Prime Minister's COVID-19 Recognition Award for contributions made to the establishement and operationalisation of the national contact tracing service at the National Investigation and Tracing Centre. 

Caz holds an honorary senior lecturer position at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine having spent 2 years working with the Experimental Human Pneumococcal Challenge (EHPC) research team undertaking research in the development of a new nasal vaccine for pneumonia.

Caz is an elected member on the Early Mid Career Researcher subcommittee of the Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS), Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Nursing Praxis in Aotearoa New Zealand Journal and a member of the Association for the Study of Obesity, UK, Collaborating Centres for Safe Healthcare (CCSHC), Health Services Research Association Australia New Zealand (HSRAANZ), New Zealand Association of Clinical Research (NZACRes), and Moving and Handling Association of New Zealand (MHANZ).

Mona is an Associate Professor (Research) in epidemiology at Te Hikuwai Rangahau Hauora | the Health Services Research Centre. She trained at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (MSc) and Bristol University (PhD). She then worked at the Centre for Public Health Research at Massey University (Wellington) as Senior Lecturer in Public Health. After another period at Bristol University as Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology, she returned to Wellington, and is employed at the HSRC. She has an interest in access to primary health care; long Covid; and food security.

Current Projects

Establishing the Long COVID Collective

Evidence-based management of Long COVID

Enhancing Primary Health Care Services to Improve Health in Aotearoa New Zealand

Consequences of Barriers to Dental Care

The challenge of closed books in primary care access, health outcomes and equity in Aotearoa New Zealand





Recently Completed Projects

Ngā Kawekawe o Mate Korona | Impacts of COVID-19 in Aotearoa

Do general practice capitation fees account for concentrations of complexity?

Causes and consequences of barriers to primary health care. An analysis of the Growing Up in New Zealand cohort

I am an Associate Professor in Health Promotion focusing on applying health psychology and behaviour change theory to improve physical activity, nutrition and sleep lifestyle behaviours in people living with cancer, inflammatory diseases, diabetes, obesity, and mental health (depression).

My focus is on designing and implementing scalable ways to improve lifestyle behaviours from prevention and primary care to secondary and tertiary care in hospital.  We apply best evidence-based practice for managing and supporting pragmatic interventions and evaluating trials using health psychology perspectives. We use methodologies including quantitative (epidemiology, systematic reviews, RCTs, cohort studies) and qualitative (reflexive thematic analysis, interpretive descriptive method, IPA - interpretive phenomenological analysis) approaches for implementing pragmatic trials and interventions with a focus on digital health delivery and person-based applications.

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Anne-Haase-2.

Topics: We currently are working on prehabilitation in older adults and indigenous groups, arthritis models of care implementation and waiting list management in osteoarthritis. I have post-graduate students working with people living with cancer, osteoarthritis, depression and other chronic illnesses.  The topics cover sleep health and emotional regulation, delivery of pragmatic lifestyle (PA and nutrition) interventions, physical activity-depression interventions, and adherence to lifestyle interventions.

Sharon has over a decade of experience in teaching and researching global health and development issues. Her teaching and research focuss on critical and decolonial approaches to the study and practice of international development, global health, and citizenship. She has a PhD and MPhil in Development Studies and a Bachelor of Nursing, which enable her to combine academic and practical perspectives on global health challenges and opportunities.

Professor Colin Simpson received his BSc (Health Sciences), MSc (Economics) and PhD (Epidemiology) from the University of Aberdeen, UK. Since 2017 he has been working as a Professor of Population Health and an epidemiologist at Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington. He is a public health expert with research focusing on the epidemiology of respiratory and infectious disease, vaccine evaluation and the improvement of the health and wellbeing of populations. Prof. Simpson’s methodological expertise is in real-world observational effectiveness and safety studies, longitudinal studies, and quality and safety in healthcare. Prof. Simpson has been awarded:

• The Health Research Council Liley Medal (2022). For an outstanding contribution to the health and medical sciences.
• The Royal Society of Edinburgh Mary Somerville Medal (2023). In recognition of exceptional achievement in research teamwork and collaborations.
• The UK Royal Statistical Society Florence Nightingale Award (2023). For excellence in healthcare data analytics.
• The University of Edinburgh Impact Award (2024). For outstanding achievement.
• Te Herenga Waka - Victoria University of Wellington (2024) Ki te Pae - Research Excellence Award (Individual).

Prof. Simpson has published over 180 research papers. His acclaimed COVID-19 studies include publications in Nature Medicine and The Lancet. These were published at a critical point in worldwide vaccination programmes, providing reassurance of the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines in the real world and likely saving many lives by encouraging a high vaccine uptake. Prof. Simpson’s research has been used to inform international policy including the UK Green Book, a resource for UK public health professionals and the European Medicine Agency. Prof. Simpson’s work has been widely disseminated through the media including The New York Times, The Guardian and the National Geographic. He has been awarded over $41m in research grants including from NZ (HRC, MBIE, Ministry of Health) and international funding bodies (MRC (UK), NIHR (UK), Innovate UK, NERC (UK), and Horizon 2020(EU)). As a result of these world leading and award winning international partnerships he was awarded the Health Data Research UK Impact of the Year Award (Winner 2021). 

Prof. Simpson provides research leadership as the Associate Dean Research (Acting) for the New FO2 (Faculty Option 2) and Chair of the FO2 Research Committee and a Chair of national committees. He has convened and chairs panels to assess applications from academic staff for research Simpson is also the co-chair of the Univentures Academic Advisory Board.

Prof. Simpson is a member of the Medtech-iQ Te Whanganui-a-Tara Steering Panel. MEDTECH-IQ Te Whanganui-a-Tara offers an opportunity to work with government organisations such as Te Whatu Ora’s Emerging Health Technology & Innovation Group to capitalise on synergies with Wellington’s internationally acknowledged Digital Creative and Games Sector and well-established BioTech sector. Medtech-iQ Te Whanganui-a-Tara facilitates research 'on-location' by bringing together researchers and students with clinicians and patients to solve real life health problems. Prof. Simpson is a founder and director of the AI Health company Triscribe Ltd, a start-up from the University of Edinburgh aiming to improve the management of hospital prescribing. 

Prof. Simpson also has a long-standing interest in Data Ethics and is the Chair of the New Zealand Government’s Chief Data Steward’s (GCDS) Data Ethics Advisory Group. This group assesses new and emerging uses of data by government agencies and provides independent advice to the GCDS. He has led the group in a change of prioritisation to help foster trust and confidence in the GCDS. He has led efforts, for instance, to improve visibility and examine settings for the ethical use of data and ensuring Māori Data Sovereignty is paramount to the group’s decision making. Prof Simpson was also part of an expert technical group consulted on the National Ethics Advisory Committee's National Ethics Standards for Health and Disability Research for Artificial Intelligence (Chapter 13).

His other chair experience is as co-chair of the New Zealand Virtual Health Information Network Executive, he has co-led this group to have a more strategic role in the development of Aotearoa’s data assets for research. Prof. Simpson has national committee membership experience, including the Scottish Government, Predictive Analytics – Health, Disability and Employment Expert Working Group; the Health Protection Scotland, Scottish Immunisation Programme Epidemiology and Surveillance and Pandemic Influenza Primary Care Reporting Steering Groups and the Royal College of General Practitioners Research and Surveillance Centre Advisory Board.

Associate Professor Holloway is the Director of the School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice.

Kathy has held multiple senior nursing leadership roles over the last two decades and is the current co-chair of the National Nursing Leadership group. This is the peak nursing body in New Zealand representing senior leaders from across the nursing sectors of policy, regulation, employment, professional bodies and education working to progress their commitment to equity through the development of a sustainable nursing workforce. Kathy is a previously elected Board member and current Fellow of the College of Nurses Aotearoa, and past Deputy Chair of Nursing Council of New Zealand where she served as a ministerial appointee for seven years. 

A registered nurse originally educated at Wellington Polytechnic, Kathy completed her Doctorate in 2011. Her doctoral work developed a specialist nursing framework for New Zealand and has been used by specialty nursing groups nationally to articulate the contribution they can make to addressing health care need through the National Nursing Consortium processes. Through her academic research and global engagement Kathy is involved in clarifying the potential of nursing expertise to improve the patient experience and inform workforce planning models.