A celebration of medical research in Otago for our final Club Otago for 2025

15/10/2025

What a wonderful way to wrap up our 2025 Club Otago series - celebrating the importance of medical research! 

Many thanks to our wonderful guests who joined us for two fantastic hours and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the Heritage Room. Thank you to Scenic Hotel Group Southern Cross who generously sponsored the venue.

Our guest speakers, Prof Pete Jones and Dr Emily Gray from HeartOtago at the University of Otago, shared insights into their work.

Pete discussed how calcium controls heart and brain cells - and how disturbances in the movement of calcium can lead to arrhythmias and heart failure. Emily spoke about cardiac rehabilitation and empowering patients to take part in recovery through collaboration and support. Pete highlighted how early OMRF funding helped him test new ideas that later attracted major grants - a great example of how your support fuels discovery.

Many thanks to our loyal Club Otago members who help ensure that these events can continue. The members can be found on our website - https://omrf.org.nz/events/club-otago/.

Thank you also to our generous raffle prize sponsors - Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Challenge Marketing Ltd, Paper Plus Dunedin, Noisy Brewing Co. and the Village Green Cafe. 

Interested in joining Club Otago? Check out the website and contact Tracey at [email protected]