Our research focus
Dr Olivier Gasser
Olivier is the Translational Immunology Group Leader at the Malaghan Institute in Wellington and principal investigator of the Challenge Immune Health programme. His research interests lie in the bidirectional communication between the immune system and host metabolism, with a strong emphasis on the gut and its resident microbes.
Musselling up
New Zealand’s Greenshell™ mussels (GSM) are the heavyweights of our aquaculture export sector, attracting $280m in export earnings each year. While GSM are currently primarily promoted as a whole product, this iconic delicacy has many hidden talents waiting to be realised. The long-term aim of the research is to help to shift GSM from a market concentrated on relatively low price “commodity protein” products to a market position based on high-value nutrition and health products.
This research programme partners with Sanford Limited, New Zealand’s leading GSM exporter, to add even more value to this gourmet delicacy by fully understanding and proving its health benefits, including anti-inflammatory effects, improved joint and bone health and increased mobility. Sanford is a large and long-established fishing company devoted entirely to the harvesting, farming, processing, storage and marketing of quality seafood and aquaculture products. Cawthron Institute is a world leader in aquaculture research with a proven track record of turning science into commercial reality. The research will build on our longstanding, successful collaboration with Sanford, our 20 years of research towards transforming the GSM aquaculture industry, and Sanford’s food processing knowledge base. The team will include researchers from Massey University, Lincoln University and the Christchurch Clinical Studies Trust (CCST). This project will generate scientific evidence of the health benefits of GSM and assist industry to identify and develop optimal GSM-based functional food products that will appeal to the emerging market of wealthy, aging, health conscious consumers – predominantly in China.
Mapping the second brain
High-Value Nutrition is in the limelight this week, with the National Science Challenge researchers and collaborators profiled extensively in a Listener feature article on gut health, entitled ‘Mapping the second brain’. The article features Professor Rob Knight...
Could NZ grass-fed wagyu beef protect against heart disease?
As barbeque season gets into full swing, New Zealand researchers are investigating whether certain kinds of red meat could actually protect against heart disease. Researchers have recruited men aged 35-55 willing to eat free meat three times a week for eight weeks in...
High-Value Nutrition secures $53.2m funding for innovative research
The High-Value Nutrition National Science Challenge has secured $53.2m funding to continue its mission-led programme of innovative research into the health and wellbeing attributes of New Zealand produced foods for our major export markets for a further five years....