Our people

There is a great depth and range of research expertise in the Migrant and Refugee Research Centre. Learn about our researchers' expertise and interests, or find out more from their full academic profiles.

Nadia Charania
Nadia Charania
Co-Director

Nadia is a senior lecturer in public health. Her research aims to improve health systems and healthcare access for marginalised populations. She has expertise in participatory and qualitative methodologies and engaging with migrant and refugee background communities. Nadia is leading research on access to and experiences of childhood health services, vaccine attitudes and community-based pandemic planning. She also teaches postgraduate courses on qualitative research, practice and philosophies, and global health.

+64 (0)9 9219999 ext. 5430
nadia.charania@aut.ac.nz
Academic staff profile
LinkedIn

Eleanor Holroyd
Eleanor Holroyd
Co-Director

Eleanor is a Professor of Nursing, and Associate Dean International and Engagement at AUT’s Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences. An AUT nursing alumna, she has a PhD in medical anthropology from HKU and 30 years of international university experience, mainly in Asia, Australia and East Africa. Her research and teaching on health equity, human rights and social justice spans nursing, public health and social sciences. Working with international PhD students is a key focus.

+64 (0)9 9219999 ext. 5298
eleanor.holroyd@aut.ac.nz
Academic staff profile
LinkedIn

Grace Wong
Grace Wong
Research Associate

Grace is a part-time senior lecturer in nursing at AUT and has been a researcher for the Centre for Occupational Health and Safety Research at AUT since 2020. She is the director and founder of Smokefree Nurses Aoteaora/New Zealand. In 2020 she co-led the Aotearoa Poster Competition, a national art-based project to combat anti-Chinese sentiment in the context of COVID-19.


Academic staff profile

Anjali Bhatia
Anjali Bhatia
Member

Anjali is a public health researcher. She currently works on multiple projects focused on stroke care, service performance and management, and ethnic differences of healthcare services in New Zealand. Anjali is involved in project management, digital health technologies, and QMS and regulatory affairs.

Academic profile

Balakrishnan Nair
Balakrishnan Nair
Member

Bala is experienced in research on vertical public health programmes and ideas that appreciate using local knowledge for future initiatives. His research reflections from public health policies of both high-income as well as low- and middle-income countries expound a larger issue in how the healthcare system has been designed. His research looks at sociocultural norms that increased the vulnerability of at-risk population.

Academic profile

Blessing Kanengoni-Nyatara
Blessing Kanengoni-Nyatara
Member

Blessing was born and raised in Zimbabwe and relocated to New Zealand to pursue a PhD inspired by her passion for health equity and social justice for migrant and refugee women. Blessing is committed to the roles that universities and agencies play as homes of this passion. It's a commitment that underpins Blessing’s work as an advisor for Refugee Health for INZ-MBIE and her research with the Migrant and Refugee Health Research Centre.

Cath Conn
Cath Conn
Member

Cath has worked for 40 years in public health and international development in Africa, Asia, and the Pacific. She is the Director of the Child and Youth Health Research Centre (CYHRC) and Associate Head of School, Public Health and Interdisciplinary Studies.

Academic profile

Chien Ju Ting
Chien Ju Ting
Member

Chien is an early career researcher. Originally from Taiwan, she is a social scientist and a discourse analyst with 20 years of experience with immigrants and refugee students. She works for Te Kākano research network for wellbeing through physical activity within AUT's School of Sport and Recreation, exploring barriers and facilitators for older Asian migrants to engage in physical activity.

Academic profile

Ineke Crezee
Ineke Crezee
Member

Ineke is an internationally renowned educator in healthcare interpreting and the author of Introduction to healthcare for interpreters and translators, which has been published in special adaptations for interpreters of various languages. She spent time at Seattle Children’s Hospital as a Fulbright New Zealand Scholar, comparing the roles of patient navigators and medical interpreters.

Academic profile

Isaac Amankwaa
Isaac Amankwaa
Member

Isaac is a registered nurse and lecturer, focusing on migrant and refugee health disparities. His experience in nursing education and research spans Ghana, the UK and New Zealand. His expertise in interdisciplinary approaches, workforce development and chronic disease management, coupled with his teaching in nursing, makes him an invaluable asset to enhancing migrant and refugee health.

Academic profile

Meenal Rai
Meenal Rai
Member

Meenal is multilingual in business, education and research. As a skilled qualitative researcher, Meenal is carving a niche for herself in the dietary health and consumer health behaviour domains. Meenal is an Indian migrant in New Zealand who works with and for ethnic communities exploring lifestyle-based transitions for improving migrant health outcomes.

Academic profile

A.V. Pramuditha Madhavi
A.V. Pramuditha Madhavi
Member

As a senior lecturer in nursing attached to the Open University of Sri Lanka, Pramuditha has dedicated her career to advancing healthcare education and nurturing the next generation of nursing professionals. Beyond the lecture hall, Pramuditha has actively contributed to the field of research, with a particular interest in gerontological nursing and midwifery, making valuable contributions to nursing education.

Parisa Tadi
Parisa Tadi
Member

Parisa is a programme leader of teacher education in AUT. She is recognised for her work with people from diverse cultural backgrounds. She also works with communities in Auckland and facilitates workshops with the Ministry of Education and Core Education support. Parisa's research focuses on inclusive pedagogies in teacher education, emphasising engagement with diverse communities.

Academic profile

Paul Ripley
Paul Ripley
Member

Paul is a registered nurse, nurse lecturer and doctoral candidate in AUT's School of Clinical Sciences. Paul's clinical expertise comes from nursing practice spanning over 20 years in a variety of areas including hospital and community pediatrics, public health, emergency, and refugee health. Paul has a special interest in child and youth health with a focus on refugee and migrant youth.

Academic profile

Sulekha Devaki De Silva
Sulekha Devaki De Silva
Member

Devaki De Silva is a scientist and lecturer, involved in clinical and public health disciplines. She possesses a diverse background that empowers her to adopt a holistic approach to medical and health sciences. Drawing from her multidisciplinary expertise, her contributions extend to stroke prevention, post-stroke recovery, women's health, preterm labour, epigenetics, and vector-borne diseases research.

Academic profile

Thrishila Parshu Ram
Thrishila Parshu Ram
Member

Thrishila is an early career social scientist with a sincere passion for health promotion and population health, particularly in Indigenous, migrant and refugee health. Her varied experiences in clinical research, wellness support programmes, and community services highlight her commitment to improving public health outcomes and promoting wellbeing across diverse populations.

Steering committee members

Postgraduate students

Our postgraduate students work on projects that further advance our centre's research.

Our student projects

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