Whakauae Research was delighted to welcome Dr Makarena Dudley (MNZM) from the University of Auckland, together with her colleagues Dr Oliver Menzies and Kaumātua Sonny Niha, during their visit to Whanganui to meet with Te Atawhai o Te Ao. The University and Te Atawhai o Te Ao are partnering on He Rapunga Hauora mō te Mate Wareware: A Prevalence Study, an important research project that explores how dementia affects kaumātua and their whānau.
Makarena (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu) is an Associate Professor in Psychology within the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, a Director of the University Research Centre for Brain Research, and a senior lecturer in the University’s School of Psychology. In 2020, she was awarded a fellowship by Alzheimer’s New Zealand to further her research into the impacts of dementia. Makarena’s wealth of expertise, leadership and care for the important kaupapa of mate wareware (dementia) was recognised in 2025 when she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to people with dementia, particularly Māori.
During this June visit, Makarena and Amohia reflected on the early years of their academic careers as doctoral and post-doctoral students, respectively; the collegiality they experienced through events such as the Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga writing wānanga and Health Research Council of New Zealand Hui Whakapiripiri of the mid 2000s; and their respective career trajectories since those early days. We are very grateful to Makarena, Sonny and Oliver for taking the time to visit us in Whanganui, and we wish them all the very best as they return home.
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Whakauae Research was delighted to welcome Dr Makarena Dudley (MNZM) from the University of Auckland, together with her colleagues Dr Oliver Menzies and Kaumātua Sonny Niha, during their visit to Whanganui to meet with Te Atawhai o Te Ao. The University and Te Atawhai o Te Ao are partnering on He Rapunga Hauora mō te Mate Wareware: A Prevalence Study, an important research project that explores how dementia affects kaumātua and their whānau.
Makarena (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri, Ngāti Kahu) is an Associate Professor in Psychology within the Faculty of Science at the University of Auckland, a Director of the University Research Centre for Brain Research, and a senior lecturer in the University’s School of Psychology. In 2020, she was awarded a fellowship by Alzheimer’s New Zealand to further her research into the impacts of dementia. Makarena’s wealth of expertise, leadership and care for the important kaupapa of mate wareware (dementia) was recognised in 2025 when she was appointed a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to people with dementia, particularly Māori.
During this June visit, Makarena and Amohia reflected on the early years of their academic careers as doctoral and post-doctoral students, respectively; the collegiality they experienced through events such as the Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga writing wānanga and Health Research Council of New Zealand Hui Whakapiripiri of the mid 2000s; and their respective career trajectories since those early days. We are very grateful to Makarena, Sonny and Oliver for taking the time to visit us in Whanganui, and we wish them all the very best as they return home.
