Back (left to right): Kyle McVey, Rikki Noble, Olivier Cassidy, Braden Fowell, Aorere Waaka, William Batten, Paige Richter, Tyler Lillis, Jade Keelan, Jakob Brown, Tom Talbot 
Front (left to right): Daizee Rawls, Jacquie Shanks, Breanna Ferris, Imogen Amor-Bendall, Sofia Zame, Zara Potter, Phoebe Wynands, Holly Flyger, Joseph Ross-Ward 
Absent: Tumanako Jones, Oli Gillies
Image: Liam Clayton, The Gisborne Herald

The Mātai Medical Research Institute, based in Tairāwhiti, celebrates the conclusion of a hugely successful 10-week summer internship programme. This year, they farewell 23 interns who have undertaken a transformative journey of research discovery and personal development. What makes this internship unique is its strong focus on community engagement, providing the students with opportunities to reconnect back home to their whenua after periods of study elsewhere.

The interns came from a variety of educational backgrounds, from engineering, to medicine, to physics, and psychology and Māori studies. The interns were given opportunity to work alongside leading researchers such as Dr Samantha Holdsworth (Mātai, Director of Research), Dr Josh McGeown (Mātai, Senior Research Fellow), Professor Holly Thorpe (Waikato University), and many more. Many of the interns noted that the 10-week programme provided them with new skills to move forward in their studies and reinforced their desire to continue in medical research or STEM fields. The programme featured insightful presentations by world-renowned experts, opening students' eyes to different fields.

The programme's journal club was aimed at improving abilities in scientific communication. This was supported by a comprehensive research methods course which was a highlight for many of the interns as it went hand in hand with their studies. This course covered the research process, from formulating research questions to effectively communicating scientific findings to the public.

Mātauranga Māori sessions were another favourite, with guest speakers enlightening and enriching our interns with their views and knowledge in Te Ao Māori while relating it to the mahi being done at Mātai. Additional activities ranged from waiata at Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti chapel; socialising at the Manawarū café in Elgin and being exposed to pūrākau which captured the rich local history and its relevance to the aspirations of Turanga health team; and engaging in virtual reality at Tāiki E. 

Leadership workshops led by Stu Potter stood out as a major highlight. These workshops provide the interns with invaluable insights into leadership, design thinking, and community engagement.

A special thanks to all our funders who made the summer research internship possible, including the Hugh Green Foundation, Te Puni Kōkiri, Turanga Health, Trust Tairāwhiti, Quest Trust, Vision Foundation Aotearoa, University of Auckland, HRC, Royal Society Te Apārangi Marsden Foundation; and to Te Pūkenga for the generous use of their space.

Find out more about the interns here.

The ISMRM (International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine) conference is being held in Singapore this coming May, and Mātai will be involved in seven successful collaborative abstract presentations (as below). Some of the team are very much looking forward to sharing their knowledge with others, while learning about new ground-breaking research being conducted around the world. 

The Rugby Connectome: A Longitudinal Analysis of Structural Connectivity in an Adolescent Cohort with Repeated Head Impacts
Edward Clarkson, Maryam Tayebi, William Schierding, Paul Condron, Leigh Potter, Jerome Maller, Miao Qiao, Justin Fernandez, Samantha Holdsworth, Eryn Kwon, Joshua McGeown, and Vickie Shim

Recognition of Delayed Hypoxic Leukoencephalopathy after a Severe Drug Overdose Using a Divided Subtracted Inversion Recovery (dSIR) Sequence
Paul Condron, Gil Newburn, Maryam Tayebi, Eryn E Kwon, Mark Griffin, Miriam Scadeng, Samantha Holdsworth, Daniel Cornfeld, and Graeme Bydder 

Targeted MRI (tMRI) of Small Changes in the T1 of White Matter of the Brain in Methamphetamine Dependency Before and After Abstinence
Paul Condron, Gil Newburn, Eryn Kwon, Taylor Emsden, Ben Bristow, Maryam Tayebi, Tuta Ngarimu, Wendy Mohi, Samantha Holdsworth, Daniel Cornfeld, Miriam Scadeng, and Graeme Bydder

Validation of a High Contrast Technique and T1 Values Obtained by Divided Subtracted Inversion Recovery (dSIR)
Mark Bydder and Fadil Ali

Two novel applications of 3D amplified MRI (aMRI)
Haribalan Kumar, Paul Condron, Daniel Cornfeld, Itamar Terem, Eryn Kwon, Jesse Gale, Graham Wilson, Helen Danesh-Meyer, and Samantha Holdsworth

Feasibility of MRI-based lung tissue mechanics computational models of the paediatric lung
Megan Soo, Haribalan Kumar, Daniel Cornfeld, Paul Condron, Taylor Emsden, Leigh Potter, Samantha Holdsworth, Merryn Tawhai, and Ho-Fung Chan

Revealing abnormal brain motion in patients with neurodegenerative diseases using 3D quantitative-amplified Magnetic Resonance Imaging (3D q-aMRI) - A preliminary study. 
Itamar Terem, Kyan Younes , Hillary Vossler , Elizabeth Mormino, Samantha Holdsworth, and Kawin Setsompop

We warmly welcome Sari as our Clinician Liaison. Sari developed one of the first Hospitalist Program's in the US, which led to a career in leadership as the Chair and/or member of committees in quality, ethics, and peer review. She is currently the Clinical Lead for the Information Services Governance Group, which works on projects that include the establishment of the Midland Clinical Portal (a system designed to provide a single point of clinical information access across the DHBs in Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Hauora Tairāwhiti, Taranaki and Waikato). Now based in Gisborne, she has a passion for promoting innovative health initiatives that benefit the people of Tairāwhiti and New Zealand. Sari has served as Head of Department for Medicine at Te Whatu Ora Tairāwhiti for several years, successfully expanding the department from a team of four to over 10 Physicians. Sari actively contributes to various committees aimed at enhancing clinical services in Gisborne. Outside of work, she treasures spending quality time with family both near and far, engaging in various fitness activities, and recently embarked on learning Japanese drumming.

Recently the Mātai team were fortunate enough to be hosted by the kaumātua at the Poverty Bay Bowling Club for an afternoon of lawn bowls. This was an awesome opportunity for the interns and Mātai staff to enjoy the sunny weather, connect with the community and build stronger relationships within the team. The Mātai Tairāwhiti Relief Fund (MTRF) provided funding to aid in the restoration of the PBBC's damaged carpet green, a facility for social engagement and sport. A huge thanks to the PBBC team for kindly letting us get a little competitive on the new green!

We are seeking a passionate finance professional to work in paradise for a global pioneering research organisation committed to uplifting health outcomes. A rare opportunity like this doesn't come around often and we are waiting for a special individual to join our work family to lead our finance commitments. Along with your uplifting personality your responsibilities will include:

- Supporting budgeting, forecasting and strategic planning 
- Accounts payable and accounts receivable 
- Processing payroll 
- Managing our financial records to meet compliance and obligations 
- Managing bank accounts  
- Supporting governance and executive oversight 
- Preparation of monthly and annual reporting