1. Dianne Sika-Paotonu is a New Zealand immunologist, biomedical scientist and academic in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Associate Dean at the University of Otago Wellington.
11 Facts About Dianne Sika-Paotonu
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu is of Tongan descent and is the first Pasifika biomedical scientist to receive the Cranwell Medal for science communication in 2020 and the 2022 Prime Minister's Science Communicator of the Year prize.
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In 2024 Sika-Paotonu was awarded the Callaghan Medal by the Royal Society Te Aparangi.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu was born in New Zealand to Tongan parents who emigrated to New Zealand from Tonga in the 1960s.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu attended Cannons Creek Primary School, the Wellington Seventh Day Adventist school and Wellington Girls' College.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu studied at Victoria University of Wellington where she gained a BSc in physiology in 2001, a Bachelor of Biomedical Science in molecular pathology in 2003, a Masters in Biomedical Science in 2007 and a PhD.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu completed her PhD while working on cancer vaccines at the Malaghan Institute of Medical Research in Wellington.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu's work extends into health equity issues for Pasifika and Maori communities and mentoring Pasifika students and researchers.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu is a senior lecturer in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine and Associate Dean at the University of Otago, Wellington.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu is a Health Research Council Pacific Emerging Research Fellow.
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Dianne Sika-Paotonu is married to Reno Paotonu and they have one daughter.