The first speakers have been announced for E Tipu IFAMA 2033 World Conference in Christchurch in June.
They are Tane Hunter, the co-founder of Future Crunch, Foundation of Māori Authorities chair Traci Houpapa and nanobiotechnologist Oded Shoseyov.
Hunter’s company, Future Crunch, is a thought-leadership and media organisation.
Hunter has a Master’s in Bioinformatics from the University of Melbourne and has worked for the Melbourne Royal Children’s Hospital diagnosing rare genetic diseases.
He is completing his PhD at the Victorian Cancer Care Centre, using molecular biomarkers in DNA and analysing them with artificial intelligence to improve treatments for people suffering from cancer.
Hunter is also a former United States mountain biking champion and an avid sailor.
Houpapa was named one of the BBC’s 100 most influential women in the world and is an award-winning company director and renowned agribusiness leader.
With her rural upbringing on a sheep and beef farm in the Ngākonui Valley in the central North Island and her intrinsic commitment to kaupapa Māori, Houpapa has laid the foundation for a career centred on promoting Māori leadership and participation in agribusiness.
Shoseyov is a faculty member of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he’s renowned for his work in plant molecular biology, protein engineering, and nano-biotechnology.
His research team focuses on creating bio-inspired nanocomposite materials — advanced materials that mimic the structures and properties found in nature. These can be used to create new materials with unique and useful properties for a variety of applications.
Shoseyov is known for his inspiring TED talk, which has been translated into 22 different languages and viewed by over 1.8 million people. He has authored or co-authored over 350 scientific publications and has 106 patents to his name.
He’s also the founder of 18 companies — several of which are focused on engineering new materials for use in human tissue regeneration, food packaging and 3D printing.
E Tipu IFAMA 2033 World Conference will be held in Christchurch and online.
