Dr Theresa Pankhurst (Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāti Porou) received her PhD from Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington under the supervision of Dr Lisa Connor in 2021. Her thesis investigated the potential for innate-like T-cells residing in the lung to be harnessed as adjuvants in mucosal vaccines.
In 2020 Theresa joined the Vaccine Alliance Aotearoa NZ – Ohu Kaupare Huaketo (VAANZ) and is currently a postdoctoral researcher working within the Vaccine Evaluation team of VAANZ under supervision of Dr Lisa Connor.
Theresa is the inaugural Te Urungi Fellow, a fellowship established by the Malaghan Institute’s Māori advisory group Te Urungi that aims to strengthen relationships between the Malaghan Institute and Māori communities to ultimately improve health outcomes for Māori. As Te Urungi Fellow Theresa will be seconded to the Babraham Institute at the University of Cambridge in 2023.