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Discussions on Mental Health and Viral Development: Exploring Links Between Anxiety and Viral Evolution

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The national educational project is overseen by the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research,...
The national educational project is overseen by the Wilf Malcolm Institute of Educational Research, Te Kura Toi Tangata, within the Faculty of Education at The University of Waikato Te Whare Wananga o Waikato.

26 May 2025 - 26 May 2025

6-7 pm Location: Nelson

Event Type: Presentations

Get ready for a night of brain-bending science and riveting ideas as the Royal Society Te Apārangi's Nelson Branch brings you two outstanding scholars - each a winner of a Prime Minister's Science Prize! This event promises to be a potent blend of compelling science, fresh ideas, and captivating storytelling. Join us as Professor Jemma Geoghegan and Dr. Olivia Harrison dive deep into their groundbreaking research.

Dr. Olivia Harrison took home the 2024 Prime Minister's MacDiarmid Emerging Scientist Prize due to her remarkable efforts to understand and combat anxiety. Anxiety affects millions globally, including in beautiful Aotearoa, New Zealand, and can become quite demoralizing and destructive. Dr. Harrison has dedicated her research to unraveling the complex relationship between the brain and body, focusing on how miscommunication can worsen anxiety symptoms. By combining neuroscience, psychology, physiology, exercise science, and computational modeling, she and her team aim to shed light on this breakdown in communication and evaluate the effectiveness of various treatments, including medication and exercise. Their ultimate goal is to develop personalized strategies tailored to each individual's needs, enabling them to effectively manage their anxiety.

Meanwhile, Professor Jemma Geoghegan nabbed the 2024 Prime Minister's Science Communication Prize for her work in promoting public understanding of infectious diseases and providing decision-makers with valuable insights on how best to prepare for and respond to pandemic threats in New Zealand and throughout the Pacific. With Aotearoa's unique mixture of native and invasive species, her research offers an exceptional opportunity to study viral evolution. By sampling viruses from various hosts—birds, fish, reptiles, and mammals—she strives to uncover unknown viruses, identify potential disease threats, and explore the ecological and genetic forces shaping the virosphere.

Biographies

Dr. Olivia Harrison is no stranger to academic excellence, having earned a double degree in Neuroscience and Exercise Physiology from the University of Otago and a DPhil in Clinical Neuroscience from the University of Oxford. She served as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow in Switzerland for nearly three years before returning to Aotearoa New Zealand in 2021.

Professor Jemma Geoghegan is an accomplished evolutionary virologist who specializes in emerging infectious diseases. She holds the Robert Webster Chair in Viral Pathogenesis at the University of Otago's Department of Microbiology and Immunology. Before returning to New Zealand in 2020 as a Rutherford Discovery Fellow, Professor Geoghegan completed postdoctoral research in the United States and Australia.

Location and Booking Information

Join us for this fascinating event at the Pūtangitangi Greenmeadows Centre, Main Road Stoke, Stoke, Nelson. For more information and to secure your spot, visit www.royalsociety.org.nz/events/mind-and-microbes-talks-on-anxiety-and-viral-evolution.

Royal Society Te Apārangi

Royal Society Te Apārangi is a forward-thinking, not-for-profit organization that empowers New Zealanders to explore, discover, and share knowledge.

[1] Royal Society Te Apārangi. (2025). Mind and Microbes: Talks on Anxiety and Viral Evolution. Royal Society Te Apārangi. Retrieved May 26, 2025, from https://www.royalsociety.org.nz/events/mind-and-microbes-talks-on-anxiety-and-viral-evolution[2] odt.co.nz. (2025). Mind over matter: Researcher to study how we can make anxiety vanish. Otago Daily Times. Retrieved May 26, 2025, from https://www.odt.co.nz/lifestyle/mind-over-matter-researcher-study-how-we-can-make-anxiety-vanish[3] stuff.co.nz. (2025). Meet the winners of the 2024 Prime Minister's Science Prizes. Stuff. Retrieved May 26, 2025, from https://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/news/130318466/meet-the-winners-of-the-2024-prime-ministers-science-prizes

  1. In her Noble research, Dr. Olivia Harrison combines various disciplines such as neuroscience, psychology, physiology, exercise science, and computational modeling to investigate the relationship between the brain and body, focusing on mental health conditions like anxiety.
  2. The technological advancements in science, like the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, and wearable devices, have opened new avenues for health-and-wellness, making nutrition monitoring, fitness-and-exercise tracking, and mental-health support more accessible and personalized.
  3. The integration of science, technology, and therapies-and-treatments paves the way for future well-being, allowing us to better understand the mind, body, and environment interactions and develop effective strategies to cultivate optimal health and cognitive function.

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