Photo: John Stone. Retrieved from teaonews.co.nz
Northland surgeon Dr Maxine Ronald (Te Kapotai ki Ngā Puhi, Ngāti Wai, Ngāti Hine, Ngāti Rangi) has been appointed the inaugural Māori Breast Cancer Research Leadership Fellow in a move to address the health disparities experienced by wāhine Māori and Pasifika women with breast cancer in Aotearoa New Zealand.
The fellowship, funded by Breast Cancer Cure and Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, provides Ronald with $300,000 over three years to conduct research under the supervision of Hei Āhuru Mōwai Māori Cancer Leadership Aotearoa.
Wāhine Māori and Pasifika women are more likely to develop breast cancer (35 percent and 20 percent, respectively) and face higher mortality rates than their non-Māori counterparts (33 percent and 52 percent, respectively).
Ronald, the world’s only wahine Māori consultant breast cancer surgeon, has spent much of her career focusing on her commitment to indigenous health equity.
The focus of her fellowship is to collaborate with researchers across New Zealand to enhance Māori leadership and capacity in breast cancer research, aiming to influence policy changes and improve survival outcomes.