Source: University of Auckland (UoA)
Championing Māori health equity and cultural safety in surgery has seen Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri named 2025 L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow.
A strong focus on health equity and cultural safety in surgery has seen Dr Jamie-Lee Rahiri (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) named the L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Fellow for Aotearoa New Zealand in 2025.
Rahiri has had a stellar rise as an early-career clinical researcher at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland, focused on understanding and addressing health inequities among Māori.
Currently a third-year general surgery trainee at North Shore Hospital, the senior research fellow has been recognised for improving surgical care for Māori patients and inspiring the next generation of wāhine Māori into surgery.
“My research seeks to embed equity, and improve the cultural safety and effectiveness of surgical care pathways in Aotearoa,” Rahiri says.
Earlier, Rahiri worked with South Auckland communities to improve outcomes for Māori patients after bariatric surgery.
Now, training to become a surgeon herself, is another way of leading culturally safe surgical care for whānau Māori.
“One of the projects that I’m leading right now, that’s quite exciting, is centred on weight-loss outcomes after surgery. This is an area in Aotearoa, unfortunately, that is still growing in the sense that it urgently needs compassion, surgical excellence and equity embedded within its delivery,” says Rahiri.
Rahiri is the only New Zealander and one of four across Australasia to win the regional section of the prestigious international awards.
The win comes hot on the tail of her winning the John Corboy Medal, the highest honour for a surgical trainee from the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons.
Rahiri’s PhD, Exploring Māori Experiences of Bariatric Surgery, uses a kaupapa Māori approach to redesign surgical pathways, ensuring care is equitable and culturally safe.
In 2024, she won an early career excellence award from the University of Auckland.
Rahiri is the founder of Te Piringa Kōtuku – a Kaupapa Māori Surgical and Primary Health Research Institute and a pioneer of initiatives including Te Poka Pū – National Māori Surgical Interest Group to support and advance Māori into surgery.
“This Fellowship is not just recognition of my work – it acknowledges the communities, mentors, and whānau who have shaped me,” says Rahiri. “As a doctor, researcher, and mother of three daughters, I want my girls to know they can stand tall in any space they choose. And it reminds me that the work to transform surgery for Aotearoa is only just beginning.”
The L’Oréal–UNESCO For Women in Science Fellowship programme, now in its eighteenth year in Australia and New Zealand, champions equality and visibility of women in STEMM. Each Fellow receives $25,000 to further their research, with flexibility to use the funding in ways that matter most to them.
Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences deputy dean Professor Matire Harwood, who received the same fellowship in 2017, says she’s over the moon that Jamie-Lee has received the award, which will help her continue to create meaningful medical outcomes for Māori.
“She’s an amazing researcher and clinician who always gives to her community, as well as an amazing mum and partner,” Harwood says.
Alex Davison, chief executive officer at L’Oréal Australia & New Zealand, says:
“This Fellowship is more than an award; it’s an intergenerational commitment to help women overcome systemic barriers, build leadership skills, and inspire the next generation of scientists.
“With the recent international expansion of Foundation L’Oréal’s For Girls in Science programme and the rollout of UNESCO’s ‘Imagine a World with More Women in Science’ campaign, we’re seeing increased global demand for initiatives that elevate female voices in science.
“This is echoed through government policy. These programmes work together, recognising young girls inspired by science today who become the Fellows of tomorrow, and we are proud to echo these sentiments through our For Women in Science programme.”
