2025 Rutherford Medal acceptance speech
Distinguished Professor Wickliffe (Cliff) Abraham FRSNZ, of Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka – the University of Otago, reflects on being awarded the Rutherford Medal for breakthrough advances in the understanding of the neural mechanisms of memory and for providing inspirational leadership for neuroscience in Aotearoa New Zealand.
"It is a tremendous honour to receive this award. To be selected to join the ranks of the amazing previous recipients is truly humbling."
– Cliff Abraham
"To have been able to study how the brain works, particularly how it forms memories, has been an incredible privilege. The brain is our most sacred organ. Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari kē he toa takitini. But this award is not just about me. It reflects the hard work and dedication of a multitude of outstanding colleagues, research staff and students whom I have had the immense pleasure of working with at Ōtākou Whakaihu Waka – University of Otago, along with my many colleagues across Aotearoa New Zealand and internationally. This holds not just for research gains made, but for our efforts to uplift nationally collaborative neuroscience across the motu. I am eternally grateful not only to these teams, but to the University and the Department of Psychology which have provided support and encouragement throughout my research career here.
I must also acknowledge our funding support from government agencies such as the Health Research Council and the Marsden Fund, the Brain Research New Zealand Centre of Research Excellence and, crucially, publicly supported organisations such as the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand and the Otago Medical Research Foundation, all which have been absolutely vital to conducting the research.
In receiving this medal, I would like to acknowledge Dr Phil Best, who first excited in me a love of neuroscience while I was an undergraduate student in psychology at the University of Virginia. I hope that I have been able to pass on that excitement equally well to my own trainees. I am also incredibly grateful to my research mentors during my early training years, in America, Sweden, and New Zealand, who collectively taught me how to think as a researcher. This is especially so for the late Professor Graham Goddard, a leading memory and neuroscience scholar, whom I followed to the University of Otago as a postdoctoral fellow. Perhaps not surprisingly looking back, but certainly surprising at the time, upon discovering what Otago and New Zealand had to offer, I couldn’t leave. Most importantly, I thank my late parents for their belief in me, and my wife Philippa for her love and support. It was certainly a lucky circumstance that brought me to this country! Thank you all."