Pip Thomas will research the career transition experiences of New Zealand student-athletes navigating US collegiate programmes, focusing on transitional demands, institutional responsibility, and individual agency at Illinois State University.
Pip is a researcher, practitioner, and consultant specialising in emerging athlete career transitions, and Founder of Continuum Performance Hubs. She is based in Auckland.
Sophie van Hamelsveld will research the relationships between harmful algal blooms and antibiotic resistance at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Sophie is a Senior Scientist at the New Zealand Institute of Public Health and Forensic Science in Christchurch.
Lefaoali’i Dion Enari will research Indigenous Dance as Physical Activity and Educational learning at Brigham Young University Hawai’i in Hawai’i. Dion is an Associate Professor at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Maori, an Indigenous Research Centre at MIT Unitec, Auckland. He is also Honorary Associate Professor at University of Queensland.
Riz Firestone will conduct research and co-design a youth-focused type 2 diabetes prevention programme at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles.
Riz is a Professor of Pacific and Public Health at the Centre for Public Health Research at Massey University, Wellington. She currently lives in Wellington.
Hamish McDougall will research a history of Nuclear-Free New Zealand at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Hamish is an international historian of the Cold War, decolonisation and international trade.
Until recently he was Executive Director at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and is currently Non-Resident Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington; and Research Associate at the Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland. Hamish is based in Auckland.
Luke Rowe from Tokorangi is a trained and registered clinical psychologist. He works with high performance athletes helping them to thrive under pressure. His research project is titled: Ngā Uri o Māui: At the intersection of Indigeneity, men’s mental health, and sport. Luke will attend the University of Hawai’i in Manoa, Hawai’i.
Luke is based in Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Rachael Kneepkens from Ōtaki, on the Kapiti Coast, Aotearoa / New Zealand. She is the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) for Arahunga Special School, at Ōtaki College.
Rachael will research how we motivate and support disengaged students at secondary school.
“My research has come about from many years of working with students with additional needs, who then become disengaged at school. I’m really interested in how we can motivate students and in particular how we can establish support within the wider community to keep them in school.”
Mary Bluck is a senior kāiako at Te kura O Ngā Puna Waiora / Newtown School in Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Mary will be investigating how indigenous playground play may be introduced into the classroom to accelerate learning.
“In 2025 I had the opportunity to look at positive play in the playground as part of a Kāhui ako (communities of learning). This led to further questions and ideas around further research in play especially the role in accelerating learning in our English language learners at school.”
Kerwyn Casey (KC) Huang, from Palo Alto, California, is a Professor of Bioengineering and Microbiology at Stanford University.
Trained in physics and mathematics, his research uses quantitative approaches to study microbial communities, with his Fulbright work at Otago University in Dunedin focusing on how traditional medicines influence the human gut microbiome.
From New Jersey, Carolyn is studying for a Master of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University in Christchurch, drawn to land-centred design and sustainable landscape practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Xin Feng from Columbus, Ohio, is a Professor of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University. Her research at Massey University in Palmerston North explores children’s emotional regulation and the development of depression and anxiety across cultural contexts.
Lili Kuchar is from Berkeley, California. This Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research recipient will be based at Victoria University of Wellington, researching literacy practices in highly vulnerable communities. Lili brings 15 years of experience teaching in public elementary schools and currently teaches at a pregnant and parenting teen school in Oakland, California.
Dr Christine (Chris) Pagen, from New York, is the 2026 Ian Axford Fellow in Public Policy. A senior development professional with 15 years’ experience at USAID, she has worked across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. During her fellowship, she will be based at New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington, researching international development cooperation.
From New York and Massachusetts, Stephanie Graham is undertaking a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice at Victoria University of Wellington, focusing on how museum education supports K–12 learning.
Julia Mansfield, from New York City will be completing a Master’s in Geology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, where she is researching the Green Island Fault and its seismic risk.
Yitong Tseo is a PhD candidate and bio-artist at MIT whose work explores sustainable materials and bio-fabricated soft robotics inspired by living systems. Yitong will be hosted by the University of Auckland and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute to conduct research on biohybrid robotics.
From Great Falls, Virginia, Sahana is hosted by Massey University in Palmerston North, researching leptospirosis through a One Health lens that connects human, animal, and environmental health, with a focus on prevention and community awareness.
Pip Thomas will research the career transition experiences of New Zealand student-athletes navigating US collegiate programmes, focusing on transitional demands, institutional responsibility, and individual agency at Illinois State University. Pip is a researcher, practitioner, and consultant specialising in emerging athlete career transitions, and Founder of Continuum Performance Hubs. She is based in Auckland.
Sophie van Hamelsveld will research the relationships between harmful algal blooms and antibiotic resistance at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Sophie is a Senior Scientist at the New Zealand Institute of Public Health and Forensic Science in Christchurch.
Lefaoali’i Dion Enari will research Indigenous Dance as Physical Activity and Educational learning at Brigham Young University Hawai’i in Hawai’i. Dion is an Associate Professor at Ngā Wai a Te Tūī Maori, an Indigenous Research Centre at MIT Unitec, Auckland. He is also Honorary Associate Professor at University of Queensland.
Riz Firestone will conduct research and co-design a youth-focused type 2 diabetes prevention programme at the Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles. Riz is a Professor of Pacific and Public Health at the Centre for Public Health Research at Massey University, Wellington. She currently lives in Wellington.
Hamish McDougall will research a history of Nuclear-Free New Zealand at Georgetown University in Washington DC. Hamish is an international historian of the Cold War, decolonisation and international trade. Until recently he was Executive Director at the New Zealand Institute of International Affairs and is currently Non-Resident Fellow at the Centre for Strategic Studies, Victoria University of Wellington; and Research Associate at the Public Policy Institute, University of Auckland. Hamish is based in Auckland.
Luke Rowe from Tokorangi is a trained and registered clinical psychologist. He works with high performance athletes helping them to thrive under pressure. His research project is titled: Ngā Uri o Māui: At the intersection of Indigeneity, men’s mental health, and sport. Luke will attend the University of Hawai’i in Manoa, Hawai’i. Luke is based in Te Whare Whakatupu Mātauranga at Te Wānanga o Raukawa in Aotearoa / New Zealand.
Rachael Kneepkens from Ōtaki, on the Kapiti Coast, Aotearoa / New Zealand. She is the Special Education Needs Coordinator (SENCO) for Arahunga Special School, at Ōtaki College. Rachael will research how we motivate and support disengaged students at secondary school. “My research has come about from many years of working with students with additional needs, who then become disengaged at school. I’m really interested in how we can motivate students and in particular how we can establish support within the wider community to keep them in school.”
Mary Bluck is a senior kāiako at Te kura O Ngā Puna Waiora / Newtown School in Te Whanganui-a-Tara – Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. Mary will be investigating how indigenous playground play may be introduced into the classroom to accelerate learning. “In 2025 I had the opportunity to look at positive play in the playground as part of a Kāhui ako (communities of learning). This led to further questions and ideas around further research in play especially the role in accelerating learning in our English language learners at school.”
Kerwyn Casey (KC) Huang, from Palo Alto, California, is a Professor of Bioengineering and Microbiology at Stanford University. Trained in physics and mathematics, his research uses quantitative approaches to study microbial communities, with his Fulbright work at Otago University in Dunedin focusing on how traditional medicines influence the human gut microbiome.
From New Jersey, Carolyn is studying for a Master of Landscape Architecture at Lincoln University in Christchurch, drawn to land-centred design and sustainable landscape practice in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Xin Feng from Columbus, Ohio, is a Professor of Human Development and Family Science at The Ohio State University. Her research at Massey University in Palmerston North explores children’s emotional regulation and the development of depression and anxiety across cultural contexts.
Lili Kuchar is from Berkeley, California. This Fulbright Distinguished Award in Teaching Research recipient will be based at Victoria University of Wellington, researching literacy practices in highly vulnerable communities. Lili brings 15 years of experience teaching in public elementary schools and currently teaches at a pregnant and parenting teen school in Oakland, California.
Dr Christine (Chris) Pagen, from New York, is the 2026 Ian Axford Fellow in Public Policy. A senior development professional with 15 years’ experience at USAID, she has worked across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. During her fellowship, she will be based at New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Wellington, researching international development cooperation.
From New York and Massachusetts, Stephanie Graham is undertaking a Master of Museum and Heritage Practice at Victoria University of Wellington, focusing on how museum education supports K–12 learning.
Julia Mansfield, from New York City will be completing a Master’s in Geology at the University of Otago in Dunedin, where she is researching the Green Island Fault and its seismic risk.
Yitong Tseo is a PhD candidate and bio-artist at MIT whose work explores sustainable materials and bio-fabricated soft robotics inspired by living systems. Yitong will be hosted by the University of Auckland and the Auckland Bioengineering Institute to conduct research on biohybrid robotics.
From Great Falls, Virginia, Sahana is hosted by Massey University in Palmerston North, researching leptospirosis through a One Health lens that connects human, animal, and environmental health, with a focus on prevention and community awareness.