A University of Auckland researcher looking at how Indigenous Pacific medicines could be used against contemporary respiratory viral threats such as Covid and flu has received a fellowship for the next generation of infectious diseases leaders.
The Te Niwha Fellowship will support projects being pursued by Natalie Netzler from Samoa and Ngati Haua as well as give her additional training along with the other fellows.
Dr Netzler says traditional medicines or rongoa rakau were developed over many centuries, and proved they were up to dealing with many of the new illnesses brought by colonisation.
“And so what we’re really interested in here in the study is working with our communities and our partnerships with researcher and taulasea which is the equivalent of tohunga to see what else these amazing medicines can do and then unpick how they are working,” she says.
Dr Netzler says the study has already found ormising results in the lab with two Samoan plants which work well against the virus that causes Covid.
