“We’ve had some promising results so far. We’ve been able to prove this plant has an effect on baker’s yeast, which contains many genes that have a similar function to human genes and so can be used as a model for how something might impact human biology.

“Using a library of thousands of mutant strains of yeast, Seeseei has determined the science behind how this medicinal plant works. I have been further investigating the chemical components found in an extract we have taken from the plant to find out more about how they could impact the human body.”

Helen is also investigating how the plant, as well as a number of others, affects a mutant strain of yeast used in research to understand conditions such as diabetes and fatty acid liver disease. She hopes to continue studying traditional plants from the Cook Islands, where her mother is from, although COVID-19 has put those plans on hold for 2020. She received the 2020 Biennial Zonta Science Award, which will help her expand her research by collaborating with European experts in natural products.

Helen was inspired to pursue a career in science by her high school biology teacher.

“She was passionate, patient, and enthusiastic. I originally went to university to study biology, but then switched to chemistry because I understood the subject better.”

After completing two summer internships that linked chemistry and natural products—one on plant-based traditional dyes and one on marine products—Helen decided to pursue postgraduate study in chemistry, focusing on natural products and investigating algae and sponges from Tonga. She completed her PhD at the University in 2017.

“I want to add to the knowledge they already have about the plants they use in healing,” she says. “This could be by elaborating on the science behind the plants and giving a better understanding of how they work, or it could reveal new uses for the plants that could help heal other conditions.”

When major discoveries are made, there can also be economic benefits for the Pacific Island economies, Helen says. Helen hopes her discoveries will also provide these benefits.

“It is extremely important to acknowledge and provide benefits to the indigenous people who first discovered the traditional medicine that leads to these scientific discoveries,” Helen says.

“Indigenous people have acquired and developed traditional medicinal knowledge over centuries—in some cases, millennia—with many cultures still practising traditional healing today, despite having access to Western medicine. There is so much science and traditional medicine can learn from each other.”