Tēnā koutou/Hello to you all,
We write with very sad news. Richie Poulton, our much loved, recently retired Director, passed away on Friday 29th of September.
Everyone had hoped for a longer retirement for Richie, but that was not to be. He started this year with a bucket list journey to Antarctica, which he described as magnificent. He just recently returned from Africa to be part of the nature there that he so loved. This trip included a hot air balloon ride, which is incredible considering that he was ill at the time. But that was Richie’s character - to seek out experiences and connections with the world until the last.
We know that he will be missed by, the Study members, and the team here that has worked with him – in some cases for decades. And missed as well as by those he has worked with in government, charity organisations, and in the community.
But most of all, of course, he will be missed by wife Sandhya, who is also our Research Manager, his daughter Priyanka, and his wider family. Together they have been working so hard to ensure that Richie was able to live his very best life as he endured this disease.
Richie was dedicated to the Dunedin Study and to using the gift that the Study members gave for the betterment of all New Zealanders.
Kua hinga te tōtara i Te Waonui-a-Tāne - A mighty totara has fallen in the great forest of Tāne.
The Dunedin Study Team

Happy 50th birthday from Richie and the Dunedin Study team
It’s been 50 incredible years and we wanted to thank all our Study Members and their whanau for your support over these many years and wish you a very happy birthday.So pleased to be part of the team and congratulations to all of participants that make this wonderful study. Best wishes Rob
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The Study's empathetic and totally confidential approach has rightly engendered the trust and candour of the Study Members in sharing so many aspects of their lives from the highs and lows to the humdrum patterns of everyday living. This would never have been achieved otherwise. Huge kudos to Richie and Phil for their bravery and persistence in bringing it to where it is today. Congratulations on 50 years!
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Feel a bit Kiwi myself now after 5 years in Dunners (but the accent is definitely Northern UK).
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Message from the Director
It is my pleasure to welcome you to the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit website. Here you will find information about the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Study (the Dunedin Study for short) which has now been ongoing for half a century. At our last phase (age) 45 data collection, 94% of living Study members participated - an unmitigated success.
We tell you how the Study began, details of the assessments we have conducted and the publications that have been generated. We describe the sub-studies of the Dunedin Study: the Parenting Study, the Next Generation Study and the Family Health History Study. Whether you are a Study member, researcher, or a member of the public, I hope you will find this information interesting and useful.
The wider Dunedin community has been critical in helping build the Dunedin study. We thank all those who have contributed, in many different ways, over the past 50 years.
Finally, we extend a special thanks to the 1037 Study members, their families and friends who have willingly given so much, for so long, in the hope of helping others. On behalf of all the researchers involved, we salute you.
Professor Richie Poulton, CNZM FRSNZ
Director
**Photo credit: Sharron Bennett NZ Listener
News and Events
Featured publications
Deep-seated psychological histories of COVID-19 vaccine hesitance and resistanceThe Dunedin study after half a century: reflections on the past, and course for the futureConstruct Validity of Triarchic Model Traits in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study Using the Multidimensional Personality QuestionnaireDisordered gambling in a longitudinal birth cohort: From childhood precursors to adult life outcomesOral Health-Related Quality of Life from Young Adulthood to Mid-LifeLife-Course Persistent Antisocial Behavior and Accelerated Biological Aging in a Longitudinal Birth CohortKidney-Function Trajectories From Young Adulthood to Midlife: Identifying Risk Strata and Opportunities for InterventionDunedin Multidisciplinary Health & Development Research Unit
University of Otago
163 Union Street
Dunedin 9016
New Zealand