Dunedin health researcher Prof Richie Poulton was ''thrilled'' after being recognised for his research at the Health Research and Excellence Awards.
About 100 people applauded Prof Poulton, director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, as he was presented with the Dean's Research Medal by Dunedin School of Medicine dean Prof Barry Taylor at the awards ceremony at the University of Otago on Monday night.
Prof Poulton said he was ''very honoured and humbled and quite emotional'' to be awarded the medal.
''I have heard people say there's nothing better than being honoured by your own and now I know what they mean.''
The award was also an acknowledgement of 1037 people who were part of the Dunedin longitudinal study, he said.
The study had reached ''the end of an era'' as funding was more difficult to access. But rather than be ''grim'' about the situation, he saw it as ''an exciting challenge'', he said.
''We are up against it now but somehow we have just got to find a way through,'' he said.
Prof Taylor paid tribute to Prof Poulton and said he ''stands head and shoulders above every other researcher at this school''.
The other winners were. -
Dunedin School of Medicine Awards: 2014 research development investment, Prof Ian Morison (Pathology); strategic initiative, Dr Chris Baldi (Medicine); strategic initiative for commercialisation, Dr Barbara Galland (Women's and Children's Health); best collaboration award, Dr Ben Wheeler (Women's and Children's Health); research support person award, Shirley Jones (Women's and Children's Health); research publication awards, Associate Prof Haxby Abbott (Pathology), Prof John Crump (Preventive and Social Medicine), Mei-Ling Blank (Preventive and Social Medicine); best health research poster awards, Trent Newman (Pathology), Bryony Leeke (Pathology), Tanushree Dasgupta (Pathology); best published paper by a PhD student award, Dr Aniruddha Chatterjee (Pathology); Gil Barbezat summer studentship prize, Ben Drinkwater (supervised by the Department of Surgical Sciences).
Southern District Health Board Awards: Nursing, midwifery and allied health practitioners award, Yesim Sokmen (Occupational Therapy), Vicky Devery (Physiotherapy).
