Impact of Pasifika ancestry on health explained
New findings about the special characteristics of the immune systems of Pasifika people will be presented at a workshop at Victoria University of Wellington this week.
New findings about the special characteristics of the immune systems of Pasifika people will be presented at a workshop at Victoria University of Wellington this week.
Molecular geneticist Dr Geoff Chambers, who is a researcher at Victoria’s School of Biological Sciences, has spent the last 25 years researching the impact of peoples’ ancestry on their health.
His earlier investigations identified genetic markers that traced the origin of Austronesian people (Polynesian, Māori, Melanesian, Micronesian and people from parts of South East Asia) back to Taiwan. He has also used molecular methods for forensic identification and as indicators for a range of diseases, including alcoholism and diabetes.
The most recent data to emerge from Dr Chambers’ ongoing research shows that Māori and Pasifika people are genetically distinct from Europeans. “It goes some way to explaining why some autoimmune diseases that are relatively common in people of European descent—such as multiple sclerosis—are virtually unheard of among Māori and Pasifika,” says Dr Chambers. “It also partly explains why diseases such as type-2 diabetes are more common in Māori or Pasifika people.”
Dr Chambers says the findings highlight an existing inequity in medical treatment. “Medicine today is an increasingly genetic field of knowledge,” he says. “Many new drugs have been developed by Europeans for Europeans, but if we are to deliver these advances effectively to Māori and Pasifika people then we need new information, which we must uncover ourselves. This requires knowing something about their genetic make-up.”
Dr Chambers says the idea behind the workshop, which will be held on Friday 4 September, is to share his findings with people who volunteered to take part in his study. “These people gave up their time to help me with the research in the first instance by providing clinical samples—this is a fantastic opportunity to be able to give something back in the form of new information.”
Also presenting at the workshop will be Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu, a lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington's School of Nursing, Midwifery, and Health Practice. Dr Sika-Paotonu completed her PhD in Biomedical Science while at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research, which is based at Victoria University, specialising in immunology. She will be presenting her doctoral research on how the immune system can be trained to recognise illness, and the potential for a cancer vaccine.
“It will be a wonderful opportunity to strengthen the connection between Victoria University and the Pasifika community,” says Dr Sika-Paotonu. “It will also be a great way to share important findings around Pasifika health research and keep Pasifika researchers connected with the community.”
For more information about the event and the research being presented, please contact Dr Geoff Chambers on 04-463 6091, 04-562 8450 or geoff.chambers@vuw.ac.nz , or Dr Dianne Sika-Paotonu on 04-463 6150 or dianne.sika-paotonu@vuw.ac.nz
Please RSVP to Bailey Tuiomanufili on 04-463 9522 or to bailey.tuiomanufili@vuw.ac.nz .
For the event flier please see Pasifika Health Workshop - translating research into action .