MBIE welcomes 2 new departmental science advisors

Professor Emily Parker FRSNZ (Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand) of Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington and Professor Louise Parr-Brownlie of the University of Otago and Director of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge join the MBIE team on part-time secondment. Both are highly regarded senior leaders.

MBIE’s Departmental Science Advisors play a crucial role as connectors. They foster innovation and communication between MBIE and the science community and draw upon their extensive networks and expertise to bring fresh perspectives to work such as the current Te Ara Paerangi – Future Pathways science system reforms.

Emily's background includes being a professor of Synthetic and Chemical Biology at the Ferrier Research Institute and holding the position of Associate Dean of Science – Research at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. She has a Bachelor of Science (Honours) from the University of Canterbury and earned her PhD in Biological Chemistry from the University of Cambridge. Emily was elected a fellow of the Royal Society Te Apārangi in 2019.

Emily contributes significantly to various research initiatives and organisations. She has served on the board of Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and chairs AgResearch’s Science Advisory Panel. Additionally, she has been involved in the governance of the Biological Heritage National Science Challenge and is deputy director of the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery, a Centre of Research Excellence focusing on collaboration among scientists from different disciplines and research institutions to combat severe human diseases.

Louise is similarly accomplished. As a highly regarded biomedically trained Māori neuroscientist (Ngāti Maniapoto me Te Arawa), she has a wide range of experiences in working with Māori, the health research sector and government policy experts. 

Louise obtained her undergraduate and PhD degrees from University of Otago. Her speciality is Parkinson’s disease, and she has been the Chair of the Rauika Māngai, a member of the Brain Research New Zealand Rangahau Roro Aotearoa Centre of Research Excellence as well as Deputy Chair of the Science Advisory Committee for the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand. 

She is the current Director of the Ageing Well National Science Challenge, a member of the Biomedical Research Committee at the Health Research Council, and Professor and Deputy Head (Māori) of Anatomy Department at University of Otago in Dunedin.