The NZSBMB covers a broad area of interest, including evolutionary biology, enzymatic mechanisms, structural biology, and cell biology (among many others), and our members affiliate with academia, industry and education.

At the 2025 conference, talks with education and mātauranga themes will be interwoven throughout different sessions and we welcome abstracts on these topics. 

The NZSBMB covers a broad area of interest, including evolutionary biology, enzymatic mechanisms, structural biology, and cell biology (among many others), and our members affiliate with academia, industry and education.

At the 2025 conference, talks with education and mātauranga themes will be interwoven throughout different sessions and we welcome abstracts on these topics. 

The NZSBMB covers a broad area of interest, including evolutionary biology, enzymatic mechanisms, structural biology, and cell biology (among many others), and our members affiliate with academia, industry and education.

At the 2025 conference, talks with education and mātauranga themes will be interwoven throughout different sessions and we welcome abstracts on these topics. 

Join the School of Biological Sciences and the School of Chemical and Physical Sciences for the annual Nobel Prize lecture. This year, we have three world-leading speakers discussing why these fields have won the Nobel Prizes and how they relate to their own research being conducted here in Wellington. Speakers include Anne Le Flamme (Professor of Immunology), Luke Liu (Senior Lecturer in Inorganic Chemistry), and Uli Zuelicke (Professor of Physics).

Register today: https://Nobel-Prize_2025_VUW.eventbrite.com

The NZSBMB covers a broad area of interest, including evolutionary biology, enzymatic mechanisms, structural biology, and cell biology (among many others), and our members affiliate with academia, industry and education.

At the 2025 conference, talks with education and mātauranga themes will be interwoven throughout different sessions and we welcome abstracts on these topics. 

Designing universal RNA vaccines by engineering antigens for broad immunity

The rapid success of mRNA vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 has showcased the potential of programmable antigen design, yet ongoing viral evolution highlights the need for next-generation vaccines that elicit broader and more durable protection. Dr Connonr and her team have established an integrated “end-to-end” pipeline that couples AI-integrated protein engineering with mRNA antigen screening, custom B-cell bait reagents, and single-cell immune profiling to rapidly identify immunogens that recruit cross-reactive B cell responses to conserved viral epitopes.

In this seminar, Dr Connor will highlight a recent study on a membrane-anchored tandem receptor-binding domain (RBD) mRNA immunogen, which fuses antigenically divergent SARS-CoV-2 Delta and Omicron RBDs on a single polypeptide. The divergent vaccine drives breadth through co-presentation of shared and variant-specific epitopes, eliciting potent neutralising antibodies and expanding cross-reactive B cells that recognise Delta, Omicron, and even the more distant SARS-CoV-1. Single-cell BCR sequencing revealed two distinct pathways to breadth: the divergent vaccine enriches germline-biased, clonally distinct cross-reactive B cells, whereas matched RBD pairings achieve cross-reactivity via affinity maturation within existing lineages.

Leveraging these mechanistic insights, the team are extending their approach to influenza. Their goal is to accelerate the development of pan-virus, universal RNA vaccines that provide broad, durable protection against current and emerging infectious threats.

Bio
Dr Lisa Connor is a Programme Leader at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research and Preclinical Pillar Lead for the New Zealand RNA Platform. She completed her PhD at the Malaghan Institute, studying memory CD4⁺ T cell responses to mycobacteria, before postdoctoral training at the Trudeau Institute in Upstate New York, where she investigated memory CD8⁺ T cell responses to respiratory viruses.

On returning to Aotearoa, Lisa’s research focused on the biology and transcriptional programming of dendritic cells. Awarded an HRC Sir Charles Hercus Research Fellowship, she established her independent laboratory at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington in 2018.

Now back at Malaghan, Lisa leads a programme investigating the immunobiology of vaccination, with a focus on respiratory pathogens. Leveraging expertise in mucosal vaccine development and mRNA technologies, her team aims to design smarter antigens and drive next-generation vaccine innovation.

Please note this is an in-person only seminar.

Note that if you are coming from outside the Malaghan Institute, please allow time to sign-in at reception for their start at 12pm.

Do you want to be part of the solution to tackle climate change but don’t have the time to become a climate scientist? Join the Climate Training Co. for a 3-hour interactive workshop to explore the causes and consequences of climate disturbances.

Based on the IPCC report and played by over 2 million people worldwide, this collaborative workshop allows you to understand the key issues of climate change to empower you to take action.

How it works:
The workshop is based on a 42-card game. Each card represents an element, a cause or a consequence of climate change.

In teams, guided by your facilitator, you are encouraged to find the cause-effect relationship between the different components of climate change. Collective intelligence will get you from one deck of card to the next!

This step-by-step reconstruction provides keys to understand the complexity and develop an overview of climate change.

Agenda:
Introduction, 15 mins

Fresk Card Game, 1 1/2 hours

Debrief and Actions, 1 hour 15 mins

Climate Fresk is an excellent opportunity to understand the key elements of climate change and what you can do to be part of the solution. No previous climate knowledge is needed.

Tea, coffee and snacks will be served during the short break. Workshop run by Climate Training Co. Ltd.

Tickets:
General Admission $40.00 + $2.86 fee
Or by koha/ donation
Book tickets

In 1947, Māori leader, politician, and scholar Apirana Ngata spoke to his scholarly peers at the Polynesian Society, announcing his greatest desire to revive Māori culture as a living force within communities, not be relegated to dead exhibits in museums (Ramsden 1948, 85). This lecture acknowledges the concerns of visionary leaders and champions of cultural practice and their activation within museums. Through her work as a Māori curator, writer, cultural practitioner and post-doctoral researcher, Awhina Tamarapa advocates for cultural restoration as a form of liberation in a museum context. In her research, Tamarapa is exploring strategies for the recovery and reclamation of taonga puoro (singing treasures) and karetao (animated storytellers) for new generations.

There are challenges regarding taonga held by overseas museums. Concepts such as keeping taonga warm, and mana taonga, recognise the connection and authority of descendants to their taonga, which underpin this work.

The focus on the reclamation of Indigenous practice has been bolstered by working with First Nations, Canada BC. Led by Professor Bryony Onciul, University of Exeter, UK, Tamarapa was privileged to be part of a research project, “The Future of Indigenous Rights and Responsibilities: Ancestral governance, environmental stewardship, language revival, and cultural vibrancy” funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council, UK. The Michael Volkerling Lecture series is a partnership event with the Museum and Heritage Studies programme (Stout Research Centre for NZ Studies) at Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University of Wellington, National Services Te Paerangi and Te Papa Tongarewa.  This annual public lecture series recognises the legacy of the late Dr Michael Volkerling, who was one of the principal architects of New Zealand's cultural and creative sectors.