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Another household name, University of Otago epidemiologist Michael Baker, won the Prime Minister s Science Communication Prize.
Otago University said in a statement Prof Baker had been New Zealand s go-to science professional since the start of the pandemic. Prof Baker wrote the book on New Zealand s hugely successful COVID-19 elimination strategy, using multiple forms of science communication to actively promote a move away from a mitigation strategy in early March 2020.
Prof Baker said he was relieved when the Government implemented the COVID-19 elimination strategy. I felt absolutely compelled to communicate because at some points I thought New Zealand was heading off a cliff, particularly a year ago when we were at a real crossroads as to whether to follow a flatten the curve approach or to forge a different direction to eliminate the virus.
Centre director Professor Shaun Hendy said it had been a pleasure to work with the team on such an “unrepeatable experience”. “[Thank you for] listening to us, for trusting us – it’s been incredible – and if we hadn’t had that trust, it would have all been for nothing.” The World Health Organisation’s Diane Abad-Vergara said the work done by Te Pūnaha Matatini on the Covid-19 response has had significant health and social impacts for New Zealand. It is part of the reason why New Zealand is one of the few countries to eliminate the virus, she said.
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University of Auckland-based research excellence centre Te Pūnaha Matatini has been awarded the 2020 Prime Minister s Science Prize for its Covid-19 response. Photo / Supplied
University of Auckland-based research excellence centre Te Pūnaha Matatini has been awarded the 2020 Prime Minister s Science Prize for its Covid-19 response. Photo / Supplied
A talented team of researchers who gave the Government the math it needed to keep Covid-19 at bay have taken out New Zealand s premier science award.
Efforts by University of Auckland-based Te Pūnaha Matatini – just announced as the winners of the $500,000 Prime Minister s Science Prize – have been a crucial part of New Zealand s world-lauded pandemic response.
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The five Prime Minister’s Science Prizes are New Zealand’s most valuable research awards. Awarded annually, they are worth nearly $1 million.
A real team effort
The team prize, worth half a million, has been awarded to a consortium of 24 researchers working together in the field of complexity science as part of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a Centre of Research Excellence.
In early 2020, director Shaun Hendy saw that there was a gap in providing the New Zealand Government with the data science it needed to make informed decisions about responding to the Covid-19 pandemic.