Dr Michael Maze is a respiratory and infectious disease physician based at the University of Otago in Christchurch.

Associate Professor Shannon Simpson was awarded her PhD in 2010 by the University of Tasmania. Shannon’s PhD, which looked at the developing respiratory system in a pre-clinical model of preterm birth, received several awards including the prestigious American Physiological Society Scholander Prize for meritorious work by a young investigator. The move to Telethon Kids Institute expanded Shannon’s skills in clinical respiratory physiology while undertaking research in infants and children with cystic fibrosis, asthma and those surviving very preterm birth. Award of an Australian National Health & Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Early Career Fellowship (2014-17) enabled Shannon to pursue her passion of improving the health outcomes for babies born preterm. She has developed a strong international reputation as a leader in this area and now leads a multi-faceted research programme spanning from clinical cohort studies and interventional clinical trials to laboratory-based exploratory science. Shannon’s research excellence is supported by strong community engagement/involvement, support of clinical colleagues and wide reaching collaborative networks.