Langimālie Research Centre

Mālō e lelei. Warm Pacific greetings.
Welcome to the Langimālie Research Centre.

Langimālie Research builds on projects and programmes supported by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Development through the National Science Challenges for Ageing Well, Healthier Lives, and A Better Start. Our growth is also reinforced by several years of the Tongan Health Society’s contribution to various projects in the areas of primary health care, population health, major infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, and non-communicable diseases such as type-2 diabetes.

Langimālie Research Centre canvas print on wall

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About Us

Our Vision, Mission, and Values

Our People

Our Projects

Recent Publications

Fono, Conferences, Symposiums and Seminars

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About Us

Langimālie Research is our legacy of the lived talanoa (stories) of our participants, families and communities, rich and diverse cultures, experiences, lessons learned and shared knowledge, beliefs and values, hopes and dreams, and the support and contributions of a strong research network.

It is in the light of Langimālie that the Centre was incorporated on 1 October 2022 at the M20 Business Park in Manukau, South Auckland, with Dr Ofa Dewes MNZM as its inaugural Director and Dr Glen Doherty as Medical Director. Our research network currently includes the Maurice Wilkins Centre for Molecular Biodiscovery (a national centre of research excellence), the University of Auckland, Liggins Institute, University of Otago, Donald Beasley Institute, Turanga Health, Victoria University of Wellington, Massey University, Ministry of Social Development, Pasifika Futures, Pacific ethnic-specific community groups, and social and health service providers.

Dr Glenn Doherty, Medical Director – Langimālie Research Centre Ltd (LRC)

Dr Ofa Dewes, Director, MNZM, Research Director – Langimālie Research Centre Ltd (LRC)

Excellence and Equity are at the head and heart of Langimālie research.

Vision, Mission and Values

Our Vision and Mission align strongly with the Vision and Mission of the Tongan Health Society Integrated Primary Health Care Service.

Our Vision

Our Vision is that we will be the Research Centre in the community that enables and empowers Pacific Peoples to achieve optimal health and well-being throughout their lives, every day.

Our Mission

Our Mission is to grow and strengthen research communities and amplify Pacific Peoples’ voices to inform better health and well-being for all and enable them to live and age well every day.

Our Values

Kakai People

Fekumi Research

Unuaki Progress

Langimalie Research Centre brand values on wall
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Canvas art on office wall

Our People

We showcased our research at the National Science Challenge for Ageing Well Symposium on 10-11 April 2024 at Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand in Wellington.

Presentations highlighted the impact of our research leadership and the involvement of Pacific communities, clinicians, and social service providers. A book describing the projects we led over the past decade through the National Science Challenge for Ageing Well was launched at the Symposium and is listed under our Recent Publications.

Group photo with research team members
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Dr Ofa Dewes with research team members from the Tokelau community, TOA Pacific Inc., Enliven Presbyterian Support, Tongan Health Society Integrated Primary Health Care, Victoria University of Wellington, and the University of Auckland.

Early Career Researchers

Zanetta Toomata was among eight scholars selected by the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences to present their research at a recent Doctoral Showcase event.

Zanetta Toomata headshot

Zanetta presented the findings from her doctoral thesis, “Pharmacogenetics of type 2 diabetes medications among Māori and Pacific populations in Aotearoa, New Zealand”.

The selection attests to the academic excellence that Zanetta aspires to in her work. We are pleased to support Zanetta in her chosen field of study, human genetics—from receiving a Toloa Scholarship from the Ministry for Pacific Peoples to completing an honours degree with distinction and then on to a Health Research Council career development award to validate her research work with the award of a doctoral degree.

Zanetta's passion for statistics and working with big data sets has led to a unique opportunity for collaboration. We are thrilled to provide Zanetta with the chance to work on one of our projects using administrative data from New Zealand’s Integrated Data Infrastructure under the guidance of the esteemed Professor Barry Milne, Director of the University of Auckland’s Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences.

We wish Zanetta all the very best in her endeavours and look forward to updating you on her next career step.

Internships

Tapuaki Ioane of Tonga, a B.Sc. student at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Science, was Langimālie’s inaugural intern during the summer break of 2023/24.

The Pacific Cooperation Foundation provided Tapuaki’s internship in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Manaaki Scholars from the Pacific region.

The following is Tapuaki’s story about his internship work experience at Langimālie Research Centre.

Our Projects

  • Pacific cultures: Building blocks for a socially-involved and co-created approach to brain health among Pacific older adults.

    The commissioned research is funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment through the National Science Challenge for Ageing Well. This project is designed to investigate how participants from the Tongan, Tuvaluan and Tokelauan communities engage with and participate in wellness and wellbeing services and social contexts, and how such participation impacts their wellness and wellbeing, and in later life. Collaborators for this project include community leaders, the University of Auckland’s Centre of Methods and Policy Application in the Social Sciences, and the Enliven Aged Care Services by Presbyterian Support Central, Wellington.

  • Intergenerational, Integrative & Intellectual Pacific Properties and Pathways for Life (IP4Life).

    This project is a Pacific sister-study to the Life-course Impact of Chronic Health Conditions: A Family and Whānau Perspective Programme funded by the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment through the three health-related National Science Challenges – A Better Start, Healthier Lives, and Ageing Well. The Pacific study undertook qualitative research with participants from the Tokelau communities in Auckland and Wellington to assess the family, household and community strengths that allow people in these communities to thrive despite the challenges of living in families with chronic conditions.

  • Lūsia ki taulanga: A Pacific study in supported self-management.

    Approved for funding by the Health Research Council of New Zealand, this project is part of a larger programme, Taunakitanga Takitini Programme, aimed at building Aotearoa-specific knowledge about supported self-management to enable those who experience the greatest health inequities, and their families, to be supported to live the best possible life. Lūsia ki taulanga is a Tongan-specific study aimed at co-developing care models for healthcare professionals to enable and empower families and communities to support themselves within their own context. Furthermore, these models will be implemented and evaluated for outcome and impact, with a view to informing policy, healthcare services, and the public.

  • Community-based screening and health promotion initiative for type 2 diabetes.

    This is an activation grant awarded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand. Predicated on precision public health i.e. to implement pragmatic health promotion and advocacy strategies to increase awareness of diabetes in Māori and Pacific communities. We expect the research to highlight the needs for type 2 diabetes care delivery and inform policy and practices relating to diabetes prevention and management among adolescents.

National Science Challenge for Ageing Well

Bailey K, & Robinson A.

Ka Mua Ka Muri – A decade of ageing well in Aotearoa and beyond. 2024. (Hikawai-Goodall L, Cochran U, Ariki Creative, Bailey K & Richardson R.) ISBN 978-0-473-71126-9 (soft cover); ISBN 978-0-473-71127-6 (PDF).

Recent Publications

Long-term health conditions among household families in Aotearoa New Zealand

Underwood L, Teng A, Bowden N, Dewes O, Marek L, Milne B.

Long-term health conditions among household families in Aotearoa New Zealand: cross-sectional analysis of integrated Census and administrative data. N Z Med J. 2024 Jun 7;137(1596):20-34. doi: 10.26635/6965.6370. PMID: 38843547.

Digital Storytelling as a culturally appropriate method in palliative care health research

Dewes O, Williams K, Naisali S. Talanoa.

An evaluation of the narratives of Pacific families caring for older loved ones at the end of life. In Pacific Studies, Special Issue, Growing Old in the Pacific. 2023: 46(1), 103-122.

Genetic testing for misclassified monogenic diabetes in Māori and Pacific peoples in Aotearoa, New Zealand, with early-onset type 2 diabetes

Toomata Z, Leask M, Krishnan K, Cadzow M, Dalbeth N, Stamp LK, de Zoysa J, Merriman T, Wilcox P, Dewes O, Murphy R.

Front. Endocrinol. 2023:14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fendo.2023.1174699

Fono, Conferences, Symposiums and Seminars

DOHaD ANZPacific 2024: Development, Disease and Repair

4-5 July 2024
Griffith University Gold Coast Campus, Queensland, Australia.

RNZCGP – Conference for General Practice

25-28 July 2024
Tākina Wellington Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wellington, New Zealand.

For more information about the research services we provide or to express interest in collaborating with us, please get in touch with the Director:

Dr Ofa Dewes MNZM, Email: ofa.dewes@tonganhealth.com or Mobile:  021 0912 6629.