Helena Abolins-Thompson GENEMAPPERS 2024

Helena Abolins-Thompson

Kia ora! Ko Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ko Kāi Tahu, Ko Rangitāne Nui a Rua ōku iwi He Pia ahau mō Te Tari Hāparapra me Te Taria Whāomoomo ki Ōtakou Whakaihui Waka ki Te Whanganui a Tara Ko Helena tōku ingoa. Kia ora, my name is Helena, I am a 2nd year (going into 3rd year) PhD candidate in the department of surgery and anaesthesia at the University of Otago Wellington, under the supervision of Drs Kirsty Danielson, Claire Henry, Megan Leask and Bridget Simonson. My project is a collaboration between the University of Otago, the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard (Boston, USA) and Ngāti Toa Rangatira. My research focuses on the development of 3D patient derived tumour models for the study of chemotherapy response, and using single nuclei RNA sequencing (snRNAseq) for Māori with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, and coronary artery disease, with the ultimate goal of increasing Māori representation in modern scientific data. Throughout my PhD thus far, I have developed tikanga Māori (traditional Māori custom/protocol) for working with live tissue, advanced sequencing technologies, and for sending samples overseas. My interests include indigenous genomics, and how this can be integrated with translational research and precision medicine, with the goal of bringing our work back to the communities we are trying to serve.