Up and coming undergraduates
Twelve undergraduate students have embarked on science translation / health intervention projects with Onehunga High School and Auckland Girls’ Grammar School this year. The students were participants in the LENScience BioMed Summer School in 2012 where they were challenged to develop grant proposals to design, implement and measure the effect of school-based health interventions to support the development of positive health-behaviours.
The winning teams have been aptly led by second and third year undergraduates and LENScience alumni Pauline Manu'atu, Ajay Ravindran, Kamaia Pere and Hannah Burgess. At Onehunga High School the team has collaborated with the Health Council in a programme focused on take-away alternatives. With the support of former All-Black Buck Shelford they are planning to launch a series of cooking challenges including a school-wide “$25 family-of-5” meal challenge and a series of four celebrity cooking challenges for eight winning OHS families.
At Auckland Girls’ Grammar School the team have worked with senior school leaders and plan to launch a before-school breakfast and dance club for Year 10 students that will run once a week over a period of ten weeks. PolyJam involves zumba-style aerobics set to Polynesian music, followed by breakfast. The PolyJam team are currently seeking breakfast sponsors. Groups or individuals interested in sponsoring this programme should contact lenscience@auckland.ac.nz
