Renowned injury researcher wins national leadership award

PRESS RELEASE

4 November 2013

Renowned injury researcher wins national leadership award

Professor Shanthi Ameratunga is the 2013 recipient of the Injury Prevention Network Te Manaia Leadership Award. Prof Ameratunga received her award at a reception in Wellington on 1 November 2013.

The Te Manaia Leadership Award recognises the outstanding commitment and contribution individuals and organisations make to the national injury prevention sector. The Award is convened by the Injury Prevention Network of Aotearoa New Zealand.

“Shanthi has made an outstanding contribution to the injury prevention community, both in New Zealand and internationally, through her research and workforce development activities.” says Injury Prevention Network General Manager Justine Ropata. “She has achieved to the highest level in her academic career and has been passionately committed to training and stimulating the work of practitioners and future leaders in the field. It is for these reasons that she is a worthy recipient of a Te Manaia Leadership Award.”

Prof Ameratunga is a leading injury researcher who has achieved international acclaim. Her current research work focuses on road traffic injuries, child and youth injury, disability and high-quality equitable trauma care and rehabilitation outcomes. She is particularly interested in the unfair distribution of injuries among the most vulnerable – especially children and young people, low-income families, pedestrians and cyclists, and people living with disabilities.

Prof Ameratunga is currently a Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Auckland’s School of Population Health. She has taken an active role on a number of Boards and Committees in both New Zealand and overseas.

In New Zealand unintentional and intentional injury is the leading cause of death for people between the ages of 1 to 34 years, and a major cause of hospitalisation. Justine Ropata says that “the burden of injury is immense in terms of resulting disabilities, health expenditure, lost productivity, personal suffering and loss of quality of life. Injuries are preventable and it is thanks to people like Shanthi, and many others who work tirelessly behind the scenes, who are helping to expose the message that living an injury-free life is achievable and worthwhile.”

The Injury Prevention Network is a national leader in the injury prevention sector, advocating for the reduction and severity of unintentional and intentional injury in New Zealand. It is funded by the Ministry of Health.

ENDS

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