Associate Professor Bridgette Masters-Awatere was recently awarded the Waikato DHB Medical Science Award, one of a series of awards presented annually by the Kudos Science Trust. The Kudos Awards are the only regional (Waikato) science awards in New Zealand and are seen as showcasing research excellence and cutting-edge science.
Bridgette, who was also a finalist for the Vision Mātauranga Award, received the Medical Science Award at a ceremony in Hamilton ahead of other finalists in the category, arguably because of the applied nature of her work; whereby her research is conducted to meet the needs of Māori whānau, hapū and iwi, and communities. In awarding Bridgette this honour, it was observed that “Associate Professor Masters-Awatere has been instrumental in embedding Kaupapa Māori approaches and principles into medical and health-related research, creating meaningful health impacts for Māori at individual, community, service-provision and policy levels. Her focus is consistently reflected in her publication record, supervisory work, project leadership and health sector collaborations. Recognised as a pre-eminent indigenous evaluation expert, whose work has been identified as an ‘exemplar of research excellence’, Masters-Awatere is dedicated to improving health and wellbeing for Māori in the Waikato and nationally.”
The members of the Kia Puāwai Ake Ngā Uri Whakatupu Programme are delighted to congratulate Bridgette on this well-deserved award in recognition of her role as a preeminent Kaupapa Māori researcher, scholar and leader.
Bridgette is a research team member on both the Rapua te Ara Rangatira project, investigating Māori leadership and governance models to achieve equity, and the He Waka Eke Noa project which seeks to establish concepts of good practice in primary health care from a Māori perspective. She is also a member of the programme’s senior leadership providing supervision to Stacey Ruru who is enrolled in her PhD, and overall support and guidance to the programme as a whole.
