We enable world-class health research that has a local impact right here in Hawke's Bay.

Fighting fit, fighting fat! 

By Laura | 1 December 2022

Shockingly, New Zealand now has the third highest obesity rate in the OECD, with one in three adults and one in ten children being obese. These rates are worse for Māori and Pacific people and those living in the most deprived areas. Project Key Participants: A patu is a weapon used by Māori warriors to…

New Research for 2020

By Laura | 19 June 2020

The Hawkes Bay Medical Research Foundation made grants of $41,067.61 for 2020. Research Areas are: Lifting the cone of silence: How are young men in Aotearoa/New Zealand engaging in mental health First year nursing students’ experiences of an academic inquiry course in preparing them for a Bachelor of Nursing programme in New Zealand The effectiveness,…

HBMRF 2018-2019 Annual Report

By Laura | 19 June 2020

   Annual Report 2018_2019 Combined

Accolade for Researcher

By Laura | 13 August 2019

Maria Saito Benz was awarded the New Investigator Award (Neonatology) at the 2017 The Perinatal Society of Australia and NZ (PSANZ) meeting in Canberra. PSANZ is an annual Australasian meeting covering Neonatology, Obstetrics and Basic Science as well as a raft of other related disciplines. Maria presented outcomes from her initial PhD study that is…

New Ways of Measuring a Vitamin D

By Laura | 13 August 2019

Funding support by HBMRF contributed to the research reported in the following paper. Quantitation of 25-hydroxyvitamin D in dried blood spots by 2D LC-MS/MS without derivatization and correlation with serum in adult and pediatric studies Jensen BP, Saraf R, Ma J, Berry S, Grant CC, Carmargo, CA, Sies CW. Clinica Chemica Acta 481 (2018) 61-68…

New Research for 2017

By Laura | 9 September 2018

The Hawke’s Bay Medical Research Foundation made grants of up to $40,000 for the 2017 year.

HBMRF 2016-2017 Annual Report

By Laura | 18 December 2017

   PDF – Read Annual Report 2016 – 2017

Rethinking health care for long-term illnesses

By Laura | 18 December 2017

It is not uncommon for people suffering from long-term health conditions to be affected by more than one serious illness. Many of these people are also socio-economically disadvantaged and contend with chaotic lives alongside their chronic health problems. In a multiple case study, Dr Helen Francis, who graduated with her Doctor of Philosophy from Massey…

Dr Max Berry’s Neonatal Research

By Laura | 18 December 2017

What’s the reason musician Stevie Wonder is blind? He was given too much oxygen when he was born six weeks early. Research has shown how to do this safely now, so who are the forward thinking doctors doing this kind of research these days? Who is innovating the care we give and provide to pre-term…

Academic with a Prescription for Change

By Laura | 30 August 2017

A newly appointed associate professor in EIT’s School of Nursing, Rachael Walker is as focused as ever on boosting health outcomes and reducing inequities for the people of Hawke’s Bay and beyond. Born and raised in Wairoa, Rachael has been a driving force in this region’s nursing profession. In 2010 and at the age of…