Culture at the Heart: Māori and Pacific Students Step into Heart Health Research

Māori and Pacific students came together at the end of their summer of heart health research with Pūtahi Manawa, displaying their unique perspectives on heart health research and celebrating their accelerated personal and professional growth.

Fatu Malosi

15 Pacific students from the Universities of Auckland, Otago, and Waikato took part in Pūtahi Manawa's inaugural Pacific summer research programme, Fatu Malosi, which began with a fonotaga in November 2024 and finished with a celebration of the contributions students have made to better heart health outcomes for Pacific People. 

Pūtahi Manawa, Co-director Pacific, Soteria Ieremia (Vaie'e, Saoluafata, Lepea and Faleasiu, Samoa), was at the celebration and noticed the change in the students from the first meeting at the fonotaga. 

"It's exciting to see our Pacific students grow a passion for research, but more significantly is their realisation that being Pacific in this space is a 'superpower!' 

Fatu Malosi aims to provide tertiary-level students with opportunities to participate in Pasifika heart health research. It gives students a taste of heart health research and introduces them to other heart health researchers in a culturally supportive environment.

Fatu Malosi co-lead Julie-Winter Smith says, "You can't teach being Pacific, and it's this unique perspective that we want to encourage in heart health research in Aotearoa."

Attendees could see and hear the programme's success at the celebration event. One student who participated in the programme was Poyer Reihana-Finau (Tonga), a University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences student. 

 "Fatu Malosi gave me the best summer experience I have had since leaving high school 4-5 years ago. This includes the research experience itself and the strong bonds that I was fortunate and blessed to have formed with my fellow Fatu Malosi peers. I felt culturally safe and empowered in a Pakeha-dominated space," said Reihana-Finau. 

Students added to their skill set and understood the depth of what it means to be from their respective cultures while researching heart health. 

One student remarked that from their Fatu Malosi experience, they learned "that people like me can be and should be in research spaces, being a voice for our people."

It wasn't only the students who were learning over the summer. Supervisors share knowledge and receive it from their students. One supervisor from the Fatu Malosi programme gained a deeper cultural understanding.

"Throughout the summer, I learned a lot from my student in Tongan values, customs, and the critical importance of Pacific-focused research, which has shaped and updated our current work with patients."

Tausi Tausi (Tuvalu, Kiribati), a student at the University of Otago, has completed two summer research projects with Pūtahi Manawa, gained a Pūtahi Manawa Pacific postgraduate scholarship and was a mentor and role model for the new Fatu Malosi students over the summer. His summer research project was titled A Closer Look at Heart Failure: CK2 Phosphorylation and RyR2 Clusters and was supervised by Professor Pete Jones. He is about to begin a doctoral programme in 2025. 

"...as this next chapter unfolds, I hope to continually work alongside Pūtahi Manawa and its vision for the future of heart health in Aotearoa, both as a student and potential colleague/partner."

Ms Ieremia couldn't be more proud of the students' work. 

 "They hold the key to shaping this landscape for the betterment and success of Pacific heart health and overall wellbeing for the future." 

'E fofo le alamea, le alamea’

Our solutions lie within our communities

Kura Raumati

Māori students participated in a summer research programme developed by Te Ara Poutama and hosted by Manawaora, co-funded by Pūtahi Manawa and Heart Foundation NZ. The programme aims to provide opportunities for tertiary level students to participate in Māori heart health research and contribute to advancing heart health equity for Māori in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

In its second year, Kura Raumati has captured the interest of Māori tertiary students all over Aotearoa with 56 applicants and an increase in funded students from 21 in 2023/24 to 26 this summer, with 7 students successfully returning for a second summer of research.

Dr Karen Brewer (Whakatōhea, Ngaiterangi), Pūtahi Manawa co-director Māori, was in the audience over the two days of student presentations and was impressed by what she saw. 

"It was a privilege to listen to the outstanding presentations given by our Kura Raumati kairangahau as they demonstrated their learning from the summer. I was impressed by their hapori relationships, understanding of kaupapa Māori research, critical thinking, and science communication ability."

Erina Korohina (Ngāti Porou) is a research fellow with The Centre For Health and leads Te Ara Poutama, a Kaupapa Māori Heart Health research programme from which the idea and development of Kura Raumati was born.

"It has been inspiring to witness not only the depth of their research but also the personal reflections they have shared about their internship journey. Seeing them articulate their learnings, the challenges they navigated, and the growth they experienced at our Celebrations has been a powerful reflection of the impact of this kaupapa."

Ms Korohina shared her expertise with Kura Raumati student Caleb Smith (Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu) in a supervisory role over the summer who said he couldn't express how highly he recommends this experience to others.

"This research experience was one of the best professional experiences of my life, and I am so grateful for the opportunity and everyone I worked with on this journey."

"Being immersed in a te reo Māori-speaking environment was meaningful and transformative. Having grown up in a predominantly Eurocentric space with little exposure to Māori culture, the Kura Raumati initial wānanga was one of the first times I was surrounded by the language so completely. While I had worked on Māori-focused research before, I had never experienced that level of immersion.

In contrast to other experiences of attempting to embrace my Māoritanga and coming away feeling embarrassed, I felt truly connected and accepted in that environment."

Pūtahi Manawa strongly believes that community-based research is key to driving meaningful outcomes in heart health, and the students were right there in the community for their projects. 

Smith's project, Say, Sing, Pray Hauora: A literature review of Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei mōteatea or karakia regarding Hauora, highlighted how the sacred karakia is deeply interconnected to Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei's strategic plan. More than a literature review, Smith was welcomed by iwi members as they shared their aspirations for his research and made new relationships. Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei members were at the celebration to tautoko Smith's presentation.

Ms Korohina summarised everyone's work over the summer: 

"The insights and passion they have brought to their work, particularly in understanding and addressing heart health inequities, are a taonga for our communities. Ka mau te wehi, e te whānau!"

Glossary

Fonotaga – Pacific forum/conference/workshop/meeting

Wānanga – Māori forum/conference/workshop

Kairangahau – researcher

Hapori – community

Kaupapa – topic/subject

Tautoko - support