Research Outcomes
Non-invasive optical methods for the detection of blood analytes in the near infrared spectrum
HOPE Scholar, Josephine Dixon, has completed her doctoral thesis. Josephine developed and tested a novel sensor technology aimed at non-invasive detection of key blood analytes—glucose, creatinine, and lactic acid—critical for managing diabetes, kidney disease, and septic shock. Her research shows that while the sensor (SAv2) offers promising insights into light-tissue interactions and analyte detection, current limitations in signal quality and sensitivity mean it’s not yet reliable for clinical use. The work provides valuable direction for future innovation in wearable health monitoring.
Examining change in physical activity, sedentary behaviour, and trajectory of functional decline in
HOPE Scholar, Khalid bin Abdul Jabbar, has completed his Doctoral thesis. Khalid's research explored how everyday habits—like sleep, nutrition, and feelings of loneliness—affect the ability of older adults to stay active and independent. The research found older people who walk more and feel less lonely tend to function better in daily life. Good nutrition also played a role, while sleep quality and oral health didn’t show a strong impact. The study also tested a digital tool called the LifeCurve™ App to see if it could help older adults in New Zealand track their health and independence, but it wasn’t found to be very useful in its current form. Overall, the findings highlight the importance of healthy habits and suggest that better digital tools are needed to support aging well.
Deprivation in venous leg ulceration
HOPE Summer Student, Emma Larsen, presents her report from her summer project. The findings show that although more Māori and Pasifika participants experience higher deprivation than non-Māori and non-Pasifika, there is no association between deprivation and healing or time to heal. You can download the full report here.
How do clinicians use assessment data to inform clinical practice when working with older people?
HOPE Summer Student, Aziza Shawudun, presents her report from her summer project. The findings provide insight into current clinician engagement with interRAI assessments, both their perceived utility and the challenges that hinder their optimal use in clinical practice. You can download the full report here.
Characterisation of the FAM171 neuronal receptors
HOPE Scholar, Tom Bird presented this poster at the Biomolecular Horizons Congress in September 2024. Tom's poster outlines the process to characterise the structure and behaviour of the FAM171 family of proteins to further understand the role these proteins play in cancer and neurodegenerative disease.
Monte Carlo analysis of near infrared wavelengths towards an optical NIR blood analyte sensor
HOPE Scholar, Josie Dixon presented this poster at the Annual Conference of the German Society for Biomedical Engineering in September 2024 at Stuttgart, Germany. Josie's poster outlines light-tissue interaction simulations to assess the penetration depth, pathlength and detected power while developing a non-invasive sensing method for blood analytes.
Nuclear pore complexes: A new player in the ageing heart?
HOPE Scholar, Mathew Shuen, presented this poster at Queenstown Research Week September 2024.
Ageism directed at older nurses in their workplace: A systematic review
HOPE Scholar, Chunxu Chen, presented this poster at the New Zealand Association of Gerontology Annual Conference in Wellington, August 24.
Fostering rescue cats as health promotion
Fostering rescue cats as health promotion
HOPE Scholar, Christine Roseveare (Massey University), presented a poster at the International Society for Anthrozoology conference. Christine states involving more older adults as animal fosterers has the potential to improve the health of both animals and the humans who care for them.
Rosa presents her research findings on satisfaction in retirement villages
It was wonderful to have Rosa Griffiths present her research findings at our recent Friends of HOPE Event - QuizTime. There is a lot of interest in retirement living and Rosa has agreed to publish here talk here.