Associate Prof Catherine Day, who works in the department of biochemistry and is also the school's research associate dean, was named distinguished researcher of the year at the school's annual awards ceremony yesterday.
Since 2005, she had had 26 articles published, almost all in high-impact international journals, school of medical sciences dean Prof Helen Nicholson said at the function.
Prof Day's accomplishments last year included seven publications, a Health Research Council grant of almost $1 million, the New Zealand Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Life Technologies research prize, and invitations to speak at conferences in Melbourne, Korea and Auckland.
"This is an outstanding achievement by any criteria and for most of these publications Catherine has been the prime initiator and driving force," Prof Nicholson said.
"As her papers gather more and more citations, so her international standing grows and it is no surprise to see her consistently asked to deliver plenary lectures or write reviews."
Prof Day said the award was "great recognition" for the collaborative research groups she supervised, most of which involved students. Some involved staff or students from overseas universities.
Other awards made yesterday: Emerging researcher of the year, Dr Daryl Schwenke (department of physiology); distinguished academic teacher, Dr Heather Brooks (microbiology and immunology); distinguished teaching fellow, Kaye Wilson (biochemistry); distinguished research support staff award, Sally-Ann Howard (anatomy and structural biology); research support staff award, Rob Porteous (physiology); excellence in postgraduate supervision, Prof Allan Herbison (physiology) and Assoc Prof Nancy Tayles (anatomy and structural biology); best paper award, Assoc Prof Peter Dearden (biochemistry).
