Marvin Wu is moving into a new and exciting position as Research Programme Manager with the Liggins Institute from 12 July. Marvin came to SOVS early in 2020, shortly before the Level 4 Covid-19 lockdown, and worked hard to assist researchers in the school with all aspects of their endeavours in his position of Senior Research Programme Coordinator. Marvin will be a great loss to the school; his hard work, professional attitude, and friendly approach will be greatly missed. We wish him all the very best with his new, well-deserved promotion.
Sila Vea joined the team on 16 June as the Survey Coordinator for the pilot NZ Eye Health Survey in East Auckland (Glenn Innes, Panmure and Ōrākei). Sila brings a wealth of experience from her many years working towards improving health and wellbeing of Pacific communities. We look forward to getting to know Sila.
Meenal Dewakar has taken up a secondment as a part-time Group Services Coordinator working two days per week for the rest of the year, to support a range of projects.
Congratulations go to Alyssa Lie, PhD student, on her recent appointment to a part-time Lecturer role within the school beginning in semester 2 2021.
A welcome lunch and pōwhiri will be held on Tuesday 13 July to celebrate all the recent arrivals and provide an opportunity for new staff and postgraduate students to meet others where that has not already happened.
We also congratulate Veeran and Roxanne on the birth of their first child, a girl named Kyra. Kyra was born on 21 June, the shortest day of the year, and shares her birthday with three existing SOVS staff members.
Baby Morar aka Kyra