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Dr Willy-John Martin

Home > Our people > Te Urungi Māori > Dr Willy-John Martin

Dr Willy-John Martin

PhD (Well), MSc, BSc

Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Whātua, Ngāti Tamaterā, Ngāti Porou

Dr Willy-John Martin is dedicated to actualising Māori aspirations in science. He is the inaugural Pou Pūtaiao/Director, Māori Research, Science and Innovation at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment.

He was previously the Manager Vision Mātauranga and Capacity Development at the Science for Technological Innovation National Science Challenge, and was founding deputy chair of Rauika Māngai.

Formerly a biomedical researcher, Willy-John is a PhD Alumnus of the Malaghan Institute.

In Melbourne, he established the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute’s first Indigenous research initiative in its 100-year history, and was a founding member of its institute-wide cultural competency programmes. In 2020, he received Te Mātanga Ora Award from his iwi, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei.