Biological Sciences and Biotechnology Research

UC's School of Biological Sciences is a vibrant research environment, which receives more than $3 million of external research income every year. 

Research is fascinating and conducted across three main fields - biotechnology, biodiversity and biosecurity, all of which are exciting and rapidly developing subjects worldwide.

Our students mix and match, according to their needs and interests, from the diverse range of courses including Antarctic ecosystems, marine ecology and climate change. There are opportunities to use gene technologies, electron microscopes and satellite images, and the research can take you to field stations throughout New Zealand's South Island, to Antarctica and the other side of the world. 

Research Strengths

Biomolecular interactions

Areas of current research biomolecular interactions include:

• Evolving and engineering biomolecules
• Engineering biotechnology
• From interaction to application

Research centres and groups

Biomolecular Interaction Centre

Biosafety

Areas of current research in biosafety include:

• Molecular biology
• Genetics
• Biochemistry
• Post-genomics
• Political science
• Social studies of science and technology
• Participatory technology assessment
• The social dimensions of risk

Research centres and groups

• Centre for Integrated Research in Biosafety

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Biomedicine

Areas of current research in biomedicine include:

• Medical engineering
• Biomaterials
• Biomechanics
• Rehabilitation
• Modelling
• Therapeutics
• Medical informatics

Research centres and groups

• Biomedical Engineering Group

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Bioengineering

Areas of current research in bioengineering include:

• Modeling arterial blood flow in the brain
• Modeling autoregulation in the kidney
• Hand Orthosis Mechanical Exoskeleton (HOME)
• Control systems and modeling to assist ICU patients
• Digital Image-based Elasto-Tomography (DIET) breast cancer screening system
• Atherosclerosis and calcium signalling in endothelial cells
• Biocorrosion behaviour of bioresorbable metallic implants
• Numerical methods in bioengineering

Research centres and groups

• Centre for Bioengineering

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Antarctic studies

Areas of current research in Antarctic studies include:

• Atmosphere-climate-cryosphere
• Antarctic ecosystems
• Antarctic and Southern Ocean governance

Research centres and groups

• Gateway Antarctica

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Atmospheric processes

Areas of current research in atmospheric processes include:

• Atmospheric, coastal, and snow and ice processes

Research centres and groups

• Centre for Atmospheric Research
• Earth Atmosphere Processes Group

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Aquaculture and marine ecology

Areas of current research in aquaculture and marine ecology include:

• Sustainability of cultured fisheries
• Mesocosm experiments 
• Nutrients in aquaculture

Research centres and groups

• Centre of Excellence in Aquaculture and Marine Ecology (CEAME)
• Marine Ecology Research Group

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Free radical biochemistry

Areas of current research in free radical biochemistry include:

• Heart disease, strokes and plaque growth: the role of cell death
• Oxidative and inflammatory events in atherosclerotic plaque
• Inflammation and septicaemia
• Radical damage to blood plasma proteins during disease
• What protects fish from oxidants?

Research centres and groups

• Free Radical Biochemistry Laboratory

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Freshwater ecology and management

Areas of current research in freshwater ecology and management include:

• Riparian Management Mackenzie Project
• Ecology of urban streams
• Acid mine drainage
• Populations and communities
• Ecology of standing waters
• Ecosystem size
• Aquatic-terrestrial linkages
• Forest fragmentation

Research centres and groups

• Waterways Centre for Freshwater Management
• Freshwater Ecology Research Group

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are:

Plant processes

Areas of current research in plant processes include:

• Biodiversity and conservation of Philippine Rafflesia 
• Evolutionary history of Tribe Senecioneae
• Mistletoe pollination and dispersal
• Species masting

Research centres and groups

• Mistletoe Research Group
• Mast Seeding Research Group

Researchers and supervisors

Staff actively working in these areas are: