Priscilla M. Wehi (nee McCallum) is a New Zealand

ethnobiologist ] Ethnobiology is the scientific study of the way living things are treated or used by different human cultures. It studies the dynamic relationships between people, biota, and environments, from the distant past to the immediate present.culture ...

and

conservation biologist Conservation biology is the study of the conservation of nature and of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction and the erosion of biotic interactions. It is an int ...

. As at July 2021 she is an associate professor at the

University of Otago , image_name = University of Otago Registry Building2.jpg , image_size = , caption = University clock tower , motto = la, Sapere aude , mottoeng = Dare to be wise , established = 1869; 152 years ago , type = Public research collegiate u ...

and on the first of that month officially undertook the role of director of Te Pūnaha Matatini, a centre of research excellence in complex systems and data analytics. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand The COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand is part of the ongoing pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first case of the disease in New Zealand was reported on 28 February 2 ...

Te Pūnaha Matatini scientists have developed mathematical models of the spread of the virus across the country that influence the New Zealand government's response to the outbreak. In 2021 Wehi was awarded the

Hill Tinsley Medal The Hill Tinsley Medal is an annual award, conferred by the New Zealand Association of Scientists The New Zealand Association of Scientists is an independent association for scientists in New Zealand. It was founded in 1941 as the New Zealand ...

Education

Wehi has a master's degree from Lincoln University, where she studied brushtail possums. She undertook her

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at the University of Waikato's School of

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the C ...

and Pacific Development. Her doctoral thesis was entitled ''Harakeke (Phormium tenax) ecology and historical management by Maori: The changing landscape in New Zealand.''

Career

After completing her PhD Wehi obtained positions at several research institutions including at

Massey University Massey University ( mi, Te Kunenga ki Pūrehuroa) is a university based in Palmerston North, New Zealand, with significant campuses in Albany and Wellington. Massey University has approximately 30,883 students, 13,796 of whom are extramural or ...

(working with

Mary Morgan-Richards Mary Morgan-Richards is a New Zealand biologist, and as of 2019 is a full professor at the Massey University. Academic career In 1995, Morgan-Richard's completed a PhD thesis titled '' 'Weta Karyotypes: the Systematic Significance of Their Vari ...

) and the University of Otago. She was then employed at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research where she undertook research into

wētā Wētā (also spelt weta) is the common name for a group of about 100 insect species in the families Anostostomatidae and Rhaphidophoridae endemic to New Zealand. They are giant flightless crickets, and some are among the heaviest insects in th ...

, and advocated for the use of indigenous knowledge to inform research into biodiversity. Wehi also led a team of researchers at Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research and Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu investigating Māori exploration of Antarctic waters. Their research suggested that Māori were possibly the first people to sight the continent of Antarctica. As at July 2021, Wehi is an associate professor at the

Awards

In 2014 Wehi was granted a

Royal Society Te Apārangi The Royal Society Te Apārangi (in full, Royal Society of New Zealand Te Apārangi) is an independent, statutory not-for-profit body in New Zealand providing funding and policy advice in the fields of sciences and the humanities. History The R ...

Rutherford Discovery Fellowship The Rutherford Discovery Fellowships are an annual science fellowship in New Zealand. The fellowships, established in 2010, are administered by the Royal Society Te Apārangi through a competitive process. Ten fellowships are awarded nationally. T ...

. In 2019 Wehi was a recipient of the Outstanding Publication on New Zealand Ecology award, conferred by the New Zealand Ecological Society. In 2020 the biological sciences department of the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

awarded Wehi their Inspirational Alumna Award. In 2021 Wehi was awarded the Hill Tinsley Medal with the New Zealand Association of Scientists recognising Wehi's "pioneering innovative research at the intersection of science and indigenous knowledge".

Selected publications

* * * * * *

References

External links

Video featuring Dr Wehi and her research into flax
* Dr Wehi interviewed on RN
Morning Report 9 June 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wehi, Priscilla Year of birth missing (living people) University of Waikato alumni Academic staff of the University of Otago New Zealand biologists Place of birth missing (living people) Living people New Zealand ecologists Women ecologists Lincoln University (New Zealand) alumni