Professor Reremoana (Moana) Theodore

Moana joined the Dunedin Study team in 1998 as an interviewer on the age-26 assessment phase (1998-99). She returned to the Study in 2007 and undertook post-doctoral research examining the early life predictors of cardiovascular outcomes including blood pressure, using longitudinal modelling techniques. Moana then worked on aligned longitudinal projects including the Graduate Longitudinal Study New Zealand and Te Kura Mai i Tawhiti (a programme of lifecourse research examining the long-term benefits of kaupapa Māori early childhood education programmes for tamariki (children) and whānau (families)). Moana was the recipient of an HRC Erihapeti Rehu-Murchie Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013-15) and was an inaugural recipient of an HRC Māori Health Research Emerging Leader Fellowship (2018-22). In October 2023, she became the Director of the Dunedin Study.

Moana has held a number of leadership positions. She is the Director of the National Centre for Lifecourse Research. She served on the Council of the Royal Society Te Apārangi from 2018 to 2021. She was a ministerial appointment to the Southern District Health Board from 2019 to 2022. Moana is of Ngāpuhi descent.