Infectious Disease research platform

New Zealand’s response to the evolving COVID-19 pandemic has presented opportunities for improvement in our research response to future infectious diseases. The Government wishes to ensure that New Zealand has world-class research capability in place to respond to infectious disease threats into the future.

The aims of the Infectious Diseases Research Platform are to:

• build New Zealand’s research capability for greater strength and scale
• ensure New Zealand is better prepared for known and emerging infectious disease threats, including future pandemics
• meet our obligations under Te Tiriti and the aims of Pae Ora (healthy futures for Māori)
• prioritise research to address health inequities
• link with international research.

We will achieve these aims whilst continuing our work to address COVID-19 and other serious infectious diseases. We will use a Te Ao Māori framework, recognising Rangatiratanga and Pātuitanga consistent with NZ Health Strategies and Action Plans.

The outcome will be that New Zealand’s research effort is co-ordinated and well prepared to meet the challenges of future threats from infectious diseases.

The Platform will be hosted in partnership by The Institute of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) and the University of Otago, engaging communities and researchers through a nation-wide network.

Te Niwha, the Infectious Disease Research Platform, aims to develop a strong, prepared and unified research network through building world class research capability for current and emerging infectious diseases, and pandemic preparedness for Aotearoa, New Zealand.

In 2023/2024, we progressed 42 SSIF invested research projects across our research priority areas of Prevention, Surveillance, Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Te Ao Māori. We focused on high impact issues: seasonal respiratory viruses; lifting immunisations in priority populations; social and environmental risks for infectious diseases; assay development for better tests; and ensuring appropriate, equitable treatment development, access and delivery.

We have funded research that integrates two or more contributing organisations and a connection to the relevant community of interest. We expect this approach will result in high-quality and impactful research that delivers real-world improvements in people’s lives.

We also fostered and facilitated information sharing, collaboration and partnerships between researchers, agencies and communities to help build trust with our community stakeholders. We have developed or strengthened multiple international networks and opened the first global adaptive clinical trial module site. Our researchers have been invited to and presented their preliminary results at international gatherings. We have developed relationships in the Pacific to ensure the Platform supports the wellbeing and research aspirations of the wider Pacific.

We continue to invest in developing a strong, capable network of research leaders. We awarded 21 studentships, scholarships and fellowships bringing our overall number of direct capability investments to 32 people. We commenced the one-year Kia Niwha Leaders Fellowships, which provide intensive support to emerging research leaders through quarterly wānanga (residential training) focusing on connection with communities, and international placements for the fellows to develop their networks and expose them to scientific excellence. We hosted our second Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Preparedness Summit in November 2023, bringing together over 130 iwi, community, research and government agency stakeholders. As part of the Summit, we launched the “Likely Pandemic Agents and Scenarios” report and heard from international, national and local panels alongside 30 short research presentations. Our “Avian Influenza” webinar drew 204 online participants. Finally, our website now includes full research project details, training events and resources.

Further information

Te Niwha Infectious Disease Research Platform(external link)

Contact Manaaki – Research Engagement team Dr Lucia Schweitzer and Wini Wilson teniwha@otago.ac.nz

The Infectious Disease Research Platform, Te Niwha, takes a transdisciplinary and integrated approach to infectious diseases and pandemic preparedness, to deliver a strong, prepared, and unified research network for Aotearoa New Zealand.  Through this network we aim to drive our Mission for world-class research capability by embedding the Te Niwha Charter principles of accountability, relationships, partnerships, and leadership.

The research themes of Te Niwha span Mātauranga Māori, Public Health, Social and Biomedical Sciences.  The focus of our strategic, commissioned and seeding research projects remains two-fold:

• Improve prevention and control of infectious diseases
• Improve response to and management of infectious diseases.

Our achievements this year include delivering four well attended research commissioning workshops and a strategic project workshop.  All research project submissions highlighted both direct and linked international relationships and affiliations, and a strong alignment to Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Vision Mātauranga, our Mission and Charter.  We also successfully launched the inaugural Te Niwha symposium signalling the first diverse gathering of research experts and community.

Our commissioned research portfolio spans all our priority areas: Prevention, Surveillance, Diagnostics, Therapeutics and Te Ao Māori.  Workshops in 2022/23 led to Te Niwha commissioning 16 multi-partnered projects in early 2023/24. Projects including likely pandemic agents and scenarios, covid-19 synthesis, antimicrobial stewardship, burden of disease analysis across drinking water infrastructure, foodborne illness to viral and bacterial disease treatments, expanding rapid point of care and biopsy technologies and understanding our risk profile through genomics and epidemiology. 

The platform is also growing critical and diverse capability through 45 research scholarships and studentships and 5 fellowships with more than half of these awarded already.  Throughout the lifetime of the platform targeting training across all facets of research will see more than 200 Te Niwha funded researchers engage in development workshops and events including the annual Te Niwha hosted Infectious Diseases and Pandemic Preparedness Summit.