Associate Professor Matire Harwood will take up the role of deputy dean of the Medical and Health Sciences Faculty at Auckland University in January 2024.
Harwood (Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rangi ki Moerewa) previously worked in Te Kupenga Hauora Māori and is head of the Department of General Practice and Primary Healthcare.
Outside of the university, Harwood is a tireless advocate for Māori health, particularly in south Auckland where she delivers interprofessional, evidenced-based primary care at Papakura marae.
Her community health and academic worlds complement each other and allow her to draw on her involvement in the Papakura community, to boost her passion to teach, learn and give back to Māori.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Harwood was influential in shaping policy, providing strategic advice to the Government, in addition to delivering clinical care and teaching opportunities as a GP in South Auckland, aligning with Te Tiriti principles of active protection, equity, and options.
She continues to provide national leadership as a member of the Hauora Māori Advisory Committee to the Minister of Health.
Harwood has an extensive publication record and has been successful at securing research grants. She has been recognised for her excellence in research and research supervision with several awards, including a Butland Teaching Award for Excellence in Research Supervision this year.
In July 2022, she was awarded the prestigious Community Service Medal from the Royal New Zealand College of GPs for her services to Māori hauora during the pandemic.
Her research interests include asthma, heart disease and diabetes.
Harwood is co-chair of the Performance Based Research Fund panel (Medicine) for the Tertiary Education Commission 2026 assessment, and co-chair of Te Whatu Ora’s Clinical Research steering group.
“Matire brings significant experience in leadership and governance within the University, the broader health sector, and the community,” Medical and Health Sciences Faculty acting dean Professor Warwick Bagg says.
“I look forward to working with Matire to provide a mana-enhancing work environment where students and colleagues thrive.”