Wellington research into newborn infant deaths wins accolade

Press Release from the Surgical Research Trust

17 March 2013

Wellington research into newborn infant deaths wins accolade

A student research project looking into the pathologies associated with neonatal death has been judged the top University of Otago, Wellington Summer Studentship for 2012/13.

The findings confirmed the importance of post mortem examination in helping to understand the reasons for death when term infants die soon after birth. The study found that in many cases important information was obtained from examination of the placenta and umbilical cord as well as from the infant.

Hamish Green recently presented his report to judges of the University of Otago’s Wellington Summer Studentship programme.

Studentships are granted to selected New Zealand university students who spend 10 weeks from November to February completing a chosen research project. This project was based in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health.

Hamish was sponsored by the Wellington-based Surgical Research Trust through a $5,000 grant from major Trust donor, buggy manufacturer phil&teds, which is also Wellington-based. His win as top presented report grants him an extra $700 from the Wellington Medical Research Foundation Inc. and the University of Otago.

The Surgical Research Trust was set up in Wellington 20 years ago to support innovative surgical research at the University of Otago, Wellington in Wellington School of Medicine and Health Sciences. As part of that support, the Trust sponsors three or four students each year to complete a summer studentship. phil&ted’s funds much of the Trust’s paediatric research projects.

Hamish says he hopes that further research occurs as a result of his initial findings. “This is an important area of research and I’m very grateful to the Trust and phil&teds for their support of my project.”

Hamish, who is now into the 5th year of his medical degree, hopes to further develop his paper so that it can be published in a national or international medical journal, like many of the Trust’s previous studentship papers.

Two other students were sponsored by the Surgical Research Trust last summer; Jamie Andrews and Braid MacRae.

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