Group A streptococcal infections are a number of infections with Streptococcus pyogenes, a group A streptococcus (GAS). S. pyogenes is a species of beta-hemolytic Gram-positive bacteria that is responsible for a wide range of infections that are mostly common and fairly mild. If the bacteria enters the bloodstream, the infection can become severe and life-threatening, and is called an invasive GAS (iGAS).
Rheumatic fever (RF) is an inflammatory disease that can involve the heart, joints, skin, and brain. The disease typically develops two to four weeks after a streptococcal throat infection. Signs and symptoms include fever, multiple painful joints, involuntary muscle movements, and occasionally a characteristic non-itchy rash known as erythema marginatum. The heart is involved in about half of the cases. Damage to the heart valves, known as rheumatic heart disease (RHD), usually occurs after repeated attacks but can sometimes occur after one. The damaged valves may result in heart failure, atrial fibrillation and infection of the valves.
Christine Coe Winterbourn is a New Zealand biochemist. She is a professor of pathology at the University of Otago, Christchurch. Her research in the biological chemistry of free radicals earned her the 2011 Rutherford Medal and the Marsden Medal, the top awards from each of New Zealand's two top science bodies.
The Prime Minister's Science Prizes are awarded yearly by the Prime Minister of New Zealand. They were first awarded in 2009 in order to raise the profile and prestige of science among New Zealanders. The 2019 awards were presented in early 2020.
Franca Ronchese is an Italian-New Zealand immunologist. She currently leads the immune cell biology programme at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington, New Zealand and is a research professor at Victoria University of Wellington.
Dipyaman Ganguly is an Indian physician-scientist immunologist and cell biologist, currently a Principal Scientist and Swarnajayanthi Fellow at the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology (IICB). He heads the Dendritic Cell Laboratory of IICB, popularly known as the Ganguly Lab, where he hosts several researchers involved in research on regulation of innate Immunity and pathogenesis of inflammatory disorders. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research, awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology, one of the highest Indian science awards for his contributions to Medical Sciences in 2022.
Margaret Alison Baird was a New Zealand immunologist. She was a full professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Otago. Her research considered dendritic cells and their role in cancer and infectious disease.
Dame Sarah Catherine Gilbert FRS is an English vaccinologist who is a Professor of Vaccinology at the University of Oxford and co-founder of Vaccitech. She specialises in the development of vaccines against influenza and emerging viral pathogens. She led the development and testing of the universal flu vaccine, which underwent clinical trials in 2011.
An mRNAvaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprint to build foreign protein that would normally be produced by a pathogen or by a cancer cell. These protein molecules stimulate an adaptive immune response that teaches the body to identify and destroy the corresponding pathogen or cancer cells. The mRNA is delivered by a co-formulation of the RNA encapsulated in lipid nanoparticles that protect the RNA strands and help their absorption into the cells.
John Andrew Crump is a New Zealand-born infectious diseases physician, medical microbiologist, and epidemiologist. He is Professor of Medicine, Pathology, and Global Health at the University of Otago and an adjunct professor of medicine, Pathology, and Global Health at Duke University. He serves as inaugural co-director of the Otago Global Health Institute, one of the university's research centres. His primary research interest is fever in the tropics, focusing on invasive bacterial diseases and bacterial and viral zoonoses.
Uğur Şahin is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the co-founder and CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. His main fields of research are cancer research and immunology.
Diana Rosemary Lennon was a New Zealand academic and paediatrician, specialising in infectious diseases, and was a full professor at the University of Auckland.
Roslyn A. Kemp is a New Zealand immunologist, and as at 2024 is a full professor at the University of Otago. Her research focuses on T cells, mucosal and tumour immune responses, inflammation and T cell memory.
Rosalina Richards is a Samoan New Zealand behavioural psychologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in Pacific public health.
Rebecca Grainger is a New Zealand academic rheumatologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, and gout. She is also interested in the use of technology for medical education and digital health.
Stephanie Margaret Hughes is a New Zealand molecular neurobiologist, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in gene therapy for the fatal childhood disorders known as Batten disease.
Gabriele Ursula Dachs is a New Zealand academic, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in the how cancer cells respond to hypoxia, and developing novel treatments for cancer.
Robin Maree Turner is a New Zealand statistician, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in applying biostatistics to health-related research. She is the director of the Biostatistics Centre in the School of Medicine.
Lynn Carol McBain is a Canadian–New Zealand academic and specialised general practitioner, and is a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in research on medical education, and primary health services. She is a Distinguished Fellow of the Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners.
Helen Mary Heffernan is a New Zealand microbiologist, specialising in antibiotic resistance. In 2020, she was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to health. The Institute of Environmental Science and Research awarded Heffernan their Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
