Recipients January 2026
International Leader Fellowship
Number of received proposals: 15
Number of funded proposals: 5
| New Zealand PI | Organisation | Project | Funding | Months | Collaboration Partners | Collaborator Organisation | Countries |
| Professor Geoffrey Rodgers | University of Canterbury | Seismic Resilience of Prefabricated Construction through High Ductility Connections | $150,000 | 36 | Dr L Tobber | The University of British Columbia | Canada |
| Dr Rogier Westerhoff | Earth Sciences New Zealand | Leading Antarctic Groundwater Science: Building the International Research Framework for a New Discipline | $150,000 | 36 | Dr J Mikucki | University of Tennessee at Knoxville | United States of America |
| Professor Brendon Bradley | University of Canterbury | AI-Enhanced Seismic Hazard Modelling and Cyberinfrastructure for NZ Earthquake Resilience | $150,000 | 36 | Professor E Rathje | University of Texas at Austin | United States of America |
| Professor Scott Duncan | Auckland University of Technology | Multimodal real-world data platform for targeted physical activity and behavioural health intervention. | $150,000 | 36 | Professor J Schipperijn | University of Southern Denmark | Denmark |
| Associate Professor Julia Mullarney | University of Waikato | AI-augmented riparian nature-based solutions: Improving strategic hydro-morphodynamic control across scales for flood-resilient rivers in Aotearoa | $150,001 | 36 | Professor Y Yang | Wuhan University | China |
Julius von Haast Fellowship
Number of received proposals: 6
Number of funded proposals: 1
| New Zealand PI | Organisation | Project | Funding | Months | Collaboration Partners | Collaborator Organisation | Countries |
| Professor Thor Besier | The University of Auckland | Intraoperative Validation of Personalised Musculoskeletal Models in Children with Cerebral Palsy | $149,750 | 36 | Dr F Ates | University of Stuttgart | Germany |
Nominations for JSPS Postdoctoral Fellowship
Number of received proposals: 7
Number of funded proposals: 4
| New Zealand PI | Organisation | Project | Months | Collaboration Partners | Collaborator Organisation | Countries |
| Dr Mamehgol Yousefidashliboroun | University of Canterbury | Multimodal Wearable Sensing for Passive Cognitive Decline Detection: Cross-Cultural Validation and Equitable AI Design | 24 | Prof. Shogo Okada | Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology | Japan |
| Doctor Liam Gibson | University of Canterbury | A 10,000 kilometre confluence: mathematical models of braided rivers from Ōtautahi to Sendai | 24 | Professor So Kazama | Tokohu University | Japan |
| Ms Valeria Lignon | Bioeconomy Sciences Institute | Floral morphology as a physical filter shaping nectar microbiome assembly | 24 | Associate Professor Kaoru Tsuji | Kobe University, | Japan |
| Doctor Elizabeth Elliot Noe | Valuing and justifying alternative proteins: A cross-national comparative study | 24 | Professor Tomiko Yamaguchi | International Christian University in Tokyo | Japan |
New Zealand - China Scientist Exchange Programme
Number of received proposals: 18
Number of funded proposals: 10
| New Zealand PI | Organisation | Project | Collaboration Partners | Collaborator Organisation | |
| Dr Leonardo Zamora | Cawthron Institute | Development of diversified and resilient low-trophic seafood production systems | Professor L Zhang | Intitute of Oceanology-Chinese Academy of Sciences | |
| Dr Zhiwei Luo | Bioeconomy Science Institute | Developing collaboration initiatives in plant signal transduction studies. | Professor R Yao, F Ma | Hunan University, Anhui Agricultural University | |
| Dr Yanfei Zhou | Bioeconomy Science Institute | Remodelling plant photosynthetic systems through synthetic biology and metabolic engineering | Professor Y Zhang | Chinese Academy of Sciences | |
| Dr Wei Fan | The University of Auckland | Deep Spatial-Temporal Forecasting under Distribution Shifts | Associate Professor J Han | Shandong University, China | |
| Dr Wilson Pan | The University of Auckland | Integrating Ocular MRI and Biomechanical Modelling to Study Lens Function in Myopia, Presbyopia, and Cataract | Dr X Tang, K Wang | Shenzhen Eye Hospital, Beihang University, China | |
| Dr Alyona Oryshchuk | The University of Auckland | Establishing a Collaboration to Investigate the CDK12/13 Protein Degraders as Target Molecules for a New Precision Therapy for Acute Myeloid Leukaemia | Dr C Zhu | College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Zhejiang University | |
| Associate Professor Thammathip Piumsomboon | University of Canterbury | Engineering AI Wearable Sensing for Healthy Ageing: An NZ-China Scoping Visit | S Je | Southern University of Science and Technology, China | |
| Dr Jerin Mathew | University of Otago | Building an International Collaborative Framework to Advance Neuromodulation for High-Impact Chronic and Neuropathic Pain | J Mathew | University of Otago | |
| Dr Yanfang Wu | University of Otago | Electrochemical Breath Sensor for Early Alzheimer’s Diagnosis: A Strategic New Zealand-China Research Collaboration | Professor J Zeng | China University of Petroleum (East China) | |
| Dr Peter Yu Feng Siew | Victoria University of Wellington | Using AI Climate Models to Investigate the Impact of Antarctic Sea Ice Loss on New Zealand | Y Zhang | Nanjing University | |
International Leader Fellowship
Principal Investigator: Professor Geoffrey Rodgers, University of Canterbury - Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Title: Seismic Resilience of Prefabricated Construction through High Ductility Connections
This project addresses a critical challenge in New Zealand: enabling safe, cost-effective
prefabricated construction in earthquake-prone regions. While prefabrication improves housing
affordability and productivity, current precast concrete systems are limited by poor seismic
performance, particularly in their connections, which exhibit insufficient deformation capacity under
earthquake loading.
The research proposes a novel approach of embedding energy dissipation mechanisms directly
within prefabricated concrete connections, simultaneously providing seismic damping and force
transfer. This approach departs from conventional reinforcement-based designs by enabling
controlled, ductile, and repeatable seismic behaviour while remaining compatible with standard
engineering design and construction practices. The project will create methods to significantly
enhance deformation capacity while improving reliability and scalability.
A key research gap lies in the lack of understanding of the relationship between connection-level
structural behaviour to overall structural response under realistic, multi-dimensional seismic
demands. The project combines experimental testing and nonlinear modelling leveraging
international research funding and investment in key research infrastructure not available within
New Zealand.
This collaboration between New Zealand and Canadian researchers integrates complementary
expertise in structural systems and seismic damping, supported by advanced testing facilities.
Project outcomes will include validated connection technologies, predictive design methods, and
practical guidance for industry, enabling broader adoption of resilient prefabricated construction
globally.
Principal Investigator: Dr Rogier Westerhoff, Earth Sciences New Zealand
Title: Leading Antarctic Groundwater Science: Building the International Research Framework for a New Discipline
Antarctica holds a secret: vast systems of liquid groundwater hidden beneath its ice and
permafrost. These hidden waters are increasingly releasing greenhouse gases into the
atmosphere and saltwater brines into the Southern Ocean, with potential consequences for climate
and marine ecosystems that science is only beginning to understand.
New Zealand has a unique opportunity to lead the global effort to study this emerging frontier. This
project brings Professor Jill Mikucki, a world-leading US scientist and pioneer of Antarctic
groundwater research, to New Zealand for three extended research visits over three years.
Working with Earth Sciences New Zealand and university partners, Mikucki and the NZ team will
build the international scientific community needed to tackle this challenge at scale by convening
workshops, developing joint research proposals, and producing the first comprehensive synthesis
of Antarctic groundwater science.
The goal is ambitious: to establish New Zealand as the home of a new global research programme
on Antarctic groundwater, modelled on successful large-scale polar initiatives, and to secure longterm
international funding for drilling and monitoring campaigns. This will position New Zealand as
a leader in one of the most exciting and consequential new fields in Antarctic science, ahead of the
International Polar Year 2032.
Principal Investigator: Professor Brendon Bradley, University of Canterbury - Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha
Title: AI-Enhanced Seismic Hazard Modelling and Cyberinfrastructure for NZ Earthquake Resilience
Earthquakes represent one of the most devastating natural hazards globally, and the recent
2010-2011 Canterbury and 2016 Kaikōura earthquakes acutely illustrated the significant economic
and social impacts that New Zealand (NZ) is susceptible to. In the face of such adversity, NZ has
developed an outstanding international track record of research excellence in earthquake resilience,
including the establishment of QuakeCoRE: The NZ Centre for Earthquake Resilience (2016-present)
as a Centre of Research Excellence, national collaboration network, and focal point for leveraging
international expertise and access to facilities. Nonetheless, earthquake resilience research that
exploits the transformative potential of big data and AI/machine learning remains nascent.
Instrumental observations of earthquakes, ground-motions, and infrastructure response have
traditionally been limited, and laboratory and field experimental data have not been widely
discoverable. To catalyse research capability and outcomes toward harnessing this transformative
potential, this International Leader Fellowship will bring Prof. Ellen Rathje (University of Texas at
Austin), a recognised global leader in cyberinfrastructure for big data and computing in earthquake
resilience, to NZ for research activities that align with the Catalyst Fund priority areas of Artificial
Intelligence and Space and Earth Observations.
Principal Investigator: Professor Scott Duncan, Auckland University of Technology - Te Wānanga Aronui o Tāmaki Makau Rau
Title: Multimodal real-world data platform for targeted physical activity and behavioural health intervention
This project will establish an enduring international collaboration between Auckland University of
Technology (AUT) and Professor Jasper Schipperijn (University of Southern Denmark) to advance
targeted, context-aware physical activity and behavioural health interventions, with a specific focus
on 24-hour movement behaviours. The collaboration centres on the development of a scalable
multimodal real-world data (RWD) platform that integrates existing wearable device data,
geospatial information, and neighbourhood-level demographic and socio-economic indicators.
By linking individual behaviour to environmental and community context, the project addresses a
critical gap in public health: the lack of infrastructure to translate real-world behavioural data into
precise, place-aware intervention strategies. The platform will enable new analytical approaches to
understanding how neighbourhood characteristics shape movement behaviours, and support the
design of equitable, targeted physical activity and behavioural health interventions.
The project is structured in three phases: data landscape mapping and platform prototyping,
stakeholder testing with researchers and policy users, and platform optimisation with embedded
capability building. Through this process, the collaboration will generate novel methodological
frameworks and establish a long-term research partnership spanning joint publications,
postgraduate supervision, and international funding applications.
The expected outcome is a step-change in New Zealand’s capability in multimodal prevention
science, positioning the country as a contributor to globally significant research at the intersection
of behavioural epidemiology, urban systems, and real-world data analytics.
Principal Investigator: Associate Professor Julia Mullarney, University of Waikato - Te Whare Wānanga o Waikato
Title: AI-augmented riparian nature-based solutions: Improving strategic hydro-morphodynamic control across scales for flood-resilient rivers in Aotearoa
This project will develop AI-enhanced nature-based solutions for flood-resilient river management
in Aotearoa New Zealand by integrating intelligent hydro-morphodynamic modelling with field ecogeomorphology.
Motivated by the widespread flooding and channel erosion caused by Cyclone
Gabrielle, the project addresses the need for practical tools to design resilient river corridors under
uncertain future climate extremes. Led by Professor Yifan Yang from Wuhan University and hosted
by Associate Professor Julia Mullarney at the University of Waikato, the collaboration links worldleading
expertise in scientific machine learning and New Zealand’s strengths in field hydrodynamics
and vegetation–flow interactions. Comparative surveys on the Waihou and Lower Waikato rivers
will measure flow, sedimentation, riverbed form, and vegetation structure across exotic and native
riparian settings. These data will underpin fast AI surrogate models that emulate complex flood
and morphodynamic behaviour across scales, enabling the testing of large numbers of intervention
scenarios. The project will also work with regional councils, engineering practitioners, and iwi and
hapū partners through workshops and field wānanga to co-design tools and guidance. The main
outcome will be an AI-enabled decision-support framework to help optimise riparian planting and
hybrid interventions for safer, more resilient river landscapes, while building capability in hydro-AI,
monitoring, and river engineering practice.
Julius von Haast Fellowship
Principal Investigator: Professor Thor Besier, The University of Auckland - Waipapa Taumata Rau
Title: Intraoperative Validation of Personalised Musculoskeletal Models in Children with Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common physical disability in childhood, affecting
approximately 19.5 million people worldwide. Many children with CP require
orthopaedic surgery to improve their ability to walk, yet surgeons currently have no
objective tools to determine the optimal surgical dose — how much to lengthen a
tendon, or how to reposition a muscle — relying instead on experience and intuition.
Computational musculoskeletal models offer a promising path to personalised
surgical planning, but their accuracy depends on assumptions about muscle and
tendon properties that have never been directly validated in children with CP.
This project brings together two world-leading research groups to address this gap.
Professor Thor Besier (Auckland Bioengineering Institute) has developed a largescale,
automated musculoskeletal modelling workflow applied to over 10,000 clinical
gait analysis sessions across Australia and New Zealand (MotionConnect). Dr. Filiz
Ates (University of Stuttgart) has pioneered intraoperative techniques to directly
measure tendon forces in children during surgery, one of only a handful of
researchers worldwide capable of doing so. Together, they will collect the first dataset
of its kind in New Zealand: direct intraoperative tendon force measurements
combined with personalised musculoskeletal models, providing ground-truth
validation data that will benefit the global biomechanics community.