Our people
Our team work collaboratively across research projects, aiming to promote positive outcomes for Māori whānau and communities. Read about each of our members and their individual expertise.
Associate Professor Isaac Warbrick (Ngāti Te Ata, Te Arawa, Ngā Puhi) is an exercise physiologist and Senior Lecturer at Taupua Waiora Centre for Māori Health Research. Isaac is leading projects where korero tuku iho – traditional narratives and Māori knowledge – guide scientific enquiry and the achievement of hauora, including a project aimed at reconnecting hauora with te taiao (the environment) using the maramataka – a traditional system of observing environmental tohu and performing certain activities on optimal days.
Denise (Tainui, Ngāti Porou ki Harataunga, Whakatōhea, Tūwharetoa, Ngāti Oneone) is Professor of Māori Health and the Director of Taupua Waiora Centre for Māori Health Research at AUT University. She has an extensive background in undergraduate and postgraduate nursing education, and teaching and research in the areas of Māori and Indigenous health, culture and health, family violence and health workforce development.
Ngāti Whatua, Te Rarawa, Waikato-Tainui is the Associate Head of School Māori Advancement within the School of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies and Co-leads Te Ara Hauora Māori at Taupua Waiora Research Centre. Alayne manages dual roles contributing to teaching, learning and curriculum design in Hauora Māori and Violence and Trauma studies. Her research areas focus on Indigenous health, violence prevention and Indigenous evidence-based healing solutions using Pūrākau (narrative) intervention approaches. She has a background in child mental health, community practice, a registered psychotherapist and a founding member of Waka Oranga – National Collective of Māori Psychotherapy Practitioners (NCMPP) developing Indigenous Centered Practice.
Dr Margaret H. Williams is an “uri” ō Ngāti Mākino and Ngāti Whakahemo iwi. She has a commitment to sharing, translating, and transforming mātauranga Māori to better reach and serve underserved communities, marae, whānau, hapu and iwi. Marg has taught courses including integrative research, principles of public health, epidemiology, public health evaluation, hauora Māori and environment and Māori health promotion. She holds the vision of normalising the practice of mātauranga Māori and developing te reo Māori in the curriculum.
Dr Deborah Heke (Ngā Puhi, Te Arawa) is a Research Fellow with Taupua Waiora and Senior Lecturer with the Department of Public Health (AUT). She is currently research co-ordinator for the HRC funded project – Te Maramataka: restoring ‘health’ by reconnecting with te taiao – led by Dr Isaac Warbrick. She has a background in the fitness industry and community mental health. Her PhD explores the identities of physically active Māori women that connect them to characteristics of atua wāhine (feminine representations of the natural environment).
Associate Professor Dianne Wepa is of Ngāti Kahungunu descent. She is a registered social worker in New Zealand and Australia, an adjunct with the University of South Australia, and Associate Professor Mental Health with the University of Bradford, UK. Some current research topics include: the impact of digital technology on suicide prevention; the social impact on dementia; fathers' use of Kangaroo Care with new-born babies; Aboriginal peoples’ mental health discourse; midwifery students' resilience; effective viral hepatitis management strategies during COVID-19.
Te Wai (Waikato-Tainui, Ngaati Paaoa, Ngaati Maniapoto) is a lecturer of Maaori Health under Taupua Waiora Centre for Maaori Health Research at AUT University. She is a qualified youth worker and has a strong background in Maaori health, community paediatrics, engagement in health services, rangatahi health and informed consent. Her PhD explores experiences of health service engagement for rangatahi Maaori from Ngaati Paaoa and Waikato-Tainui rohe. An output of this research is a resource named Areare Taringa Mai – let me be heard, that was co-created alongside rangatahi. This resource supports health care providers to effectively and positively engage with rangatahi accessing health services in Aotearoa.
Georgina is a descendant of Ngā Puhi, Ngāi Tai, Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Pākēha. She is a registered occupational therapist and has a clinical background in mental health and addictions. This experience complements her role as the course leader for Hauora Māori, a first-year paper for health students. She completed her master's thesis in 2020 which used a Pūrākau method to critique the two occupational therapy school in Aotearoa and how they support Māori occupational therapy students.
Rachel is of Pākehā descent and is a lecturer in the Violence and Trauma Studies programme. Rachel has worked in the family violence sector for over 18 years in the UK and Aotearoa. Her work experience has spanned strategic positions within government and frontline management roles in non-government organisations. For seven years, Rachel led the review of family violence deaths for the New Zealand Family Violence Death Review Committee.