‘Sugar Baby’ Researcher To Give Free Talk On Auckland’s North Shore

The Neurological Foundation hosting a free public talk by Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding.

This is a rare chance to hear from one of New Zealand’s most awarded and influential women, whose work has directly improved the lives of countless babies around the world.

Understanding: Hypoglycaemia in newborns with Dame Jane Harding will be held on 28 September at Smales Farm.

Professor Harding is a newborn intensive care specialist who trained in medicine at the University of Auckland and the University of Oxford, and is a former Rhodes Scholar. She leads the Neonatal Glucose Studies Team at the University of Auckland.

Her research looks at the long-term consequences of treatments given around the time of birth.

During this special event, Professor Harding will discuss her trailblazing career spanning four decades and her role in changing medical practices in neonatal units worldwide, most notably as a result of the ‘sugar gel’ study.

With her team at the University of Auckland’s Liggins Institute, Professor Harding showed how a simple $2 sugar gel rubbed inside the cheek of newborns with low blood sugar could prevent brain damage.

The simple, effective technique has been adopted worldwide, and her team was awarded the Prime Minister’s Science Prize 2021, the ultimate recognition of scientific achievement in New Zealand.

Professor Harding has worked at the University of Auckland’s Faculty of Medicine and Liggins Institute for most of her career where she continues to lead cutting-edge research to improve newborn health.

She has earned many top scientific awards available in New Zealand, including the Rutherford Medal, and was named a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2020.

Despite her accolades, Professor Harding has only ever sought to improve babies’ health.

This event is an opportunity to soak up Professor Harding’s passion for protecting babies’ brains and learn about the struggles and triumphs she has had along the way.

Professor Harding will also discuss new research, partly funded by the Neurological Foundation. It focuses on school-aged children who had mildly low blood sugar at birth, and explores a link with behaviour and learning difficulties later in life..

Understanding: Hypoglycaemia in newborns with Dame Jane Harding is hosted by the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand, which as well as partly funding her research, works to raise awareness for neurological conditions by hosting public events throughout New Zealand.

This event is free but registration is essential. Register for your free ticket at https://neurological.org.nz/get-involved/events/2022/sep/cancelled-understanding-hypoglycaemia-in-new-borns-with-dame-jane-harding call free on 0508 Brains (0508 272 467), or email RSVP@neurological.org.nz.

Event details:

Who: Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding

What: Understanding: Hypoglycaemia in newborns with Dame Jane Harding

Hosted by the Neurological Foundation of New Zealand

Where: B:HIVE Auditorium, Smales Farm, 72 Taharoto Road, Takapuna

When: 6.30pm Wednesday, 28 September 2022

Notes to editors:

The Neurological Foundation is a New Zealand charity that funds vital research and ongoing education into neurological conditions, which include diseases and disorders of the brain and nervous systems.

Distinguished Professor Dame Jane Harding is a clinician scientist and specialist neonatologist based at the Liggins Institute, University of Auckland.

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