An AgResearch post-doctoral scientist says she’s keen to work with Māori on understanding genetic material captured by māwhaiwhai or spiderwebs.
Rose Collis has received a research and science leadership fellowship from Te Niwha, the science platform for infectious disease research.
Her work at the Hopkirk Research Institute in Palmerston North involves identifying markers for pollution on dairy farms, using genomics methods to assess levels of antimicrobial resistance and waterborne pathogens which can be a potential public health risk and opportunities for improved farm systems and catchment biodiversity.
Spiderwebs capture a range of genetic material – and she hopes Maori knowledge may prove significant.
“For me that’s a really important aspect of this kaupapa. I’m not working alone. I’m working with a lot of amazing researchers, community groups, local manawhenua and farmers from the sampling to understanding of results and how that can help us all going forward,” Dr Collis says.
She hopes spiderweb samples can form the basis for effective tracking and monitoring systems for antimicrobial resistance in the environment.
