COVID-19 Research Response Report – August 2022 case studies

Take a look at some of the research that contributed to New Zealand’s COVID-19 response.

Case studies on this page are referenced in MBIE’s August 2022 COVID-19 Research Response Report.

The information below is being shown as it was provided to MBIE, therefore there will be variations in the information and in the way it is displayed.

Aotearoa New Zealand’s COVID-19 Research Response Report – August 2022

Efficient ethanol-based hand sanitiser production from wine industry grape marc waste

Key researchers

Dr Tanya Rutan, Research Winery Manager, BRI – Science Leader

Dr Matias Kinzurik, Research Programme Manager, BRI – Contract Manager


This image shows an adult figure assisting a young child to sanitise their hands.

An adult figure assisting a young child to sanitise their hands.

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
Bragato Research Institute
  • Rai Valley Bottling Co
  • Marc suppliers from the wine industry, including Indevin and Framingham

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$84,700 MBIE - COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund

ANZSRC codes COVID-19 database ID/Local award ID
  • 4206 Health
  • 3006 Food science
  • 3008 Horticultural production
CVDB-155 / NZWRC1901

Purpose of collaboration

The COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented demand for hand sanitiser. This presented the NZ wine industry with an opportunity to sustainably produce an ethanol-based sanitiser using an industry waste product. This short-term pilot study provided sanitiser for local emergency services, as well as enabling the development of a business case for a scalable commercial waste management enterprise.

Infection risk model of airborne transmission to facilitate decisions about PPE, ventilation, and isolation in shared indoor spaces

Key researchers

Prof. Mark Jermy (UC), Dr. Donald Derrick (UC), Dr. Guy Coulson (NIWA)


Eulerian (Tracer species}: Exhaled plume in typical hotel room
Diagram modelling the dispersion of exhaled breath in a typical hotel room. The diagram shows a plot of output from modelling the concentration of breath, exhaled by an occupant, throughout a hotel room. The concertation of breath can be seen.

Modelling the dispersion of exhaled breath in a typical hotel room (Dr Jason Chen).

Twin room, without purifier: Dimensionless concentration. Horizontal plane, at 5 heights. Occupant lying on bed closest to bathroom.

Above is a plot of output from some of our modelling methods: the concentration of breath, exhaled by an occupant, throughout a hotel room. The concentration of exhaled breath is a factor in the risk of infection to a worker entering the room.

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
University of Canterbury
  • Teams coordinating Managed Isolation and Quarantine Facilities (MIQFs) such as the C-RIQ team operating the Canterbury MIQFs
  • MBIE
  • Ministry of Health
  • Ministry of Education
  • Canterbury District Health Board
  • Auckland Regional Public Health Service
  • Fisher and Paykel Healthcare
  • A major NZ provider of aged residential care
  • NZ Indoor Air Quality Research Centre (IAQRC)
  • Building Research Association of New Zealand (BRANZ)
  • Researchers from Massey, Victoria and Otago universities
  • Researchers at the Univeristy of Otago Faculty of Dentistry
  • Prof. Lidia Morawska, Queensland University of Technology
  • World Health Organization

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$513,022 MBIE - COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund

ANZSRC codes Local award ID
  • 330206 Architecture- Building science, technologies and systems
  • 330311 Architecture- Models and simulations of design
  • 401101 Engineering- Air pollution modelling and control
  • 420699 Public Health- Public health not elsewhere classified

UOCX2004

Purpose of collaboration

This project developed methods to estimate the risk of transmission of COVID-19 through the air. Those methods allow us to estimate the effectiveness of control strategies (e.g. masking, improved ventilation, air cleaning). We applied those methods to understand.

the risks and effective mitigations in different environments, most notably managed isolation and quarantine facilities (MIQFs), buses, and schools. We worked directly with the operators of MIQFs and the Ministry of Education to inform decisions on how indoor spaces were to be used, and what ventilation and air cleaning strategies would reduce the risk of infection.

Genomic epidemiology and evolution of COVID-19 in New Zealand

Key researchers

Jemma Geoghegan (Otago and ESR), Joep de Lidt (ESR)


Cartoon depiction of an old, bearded scientist explaining infections disease modelling data on a screen behind him.
Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
University of Otago Colin Simpson, Nigel French, Alexei Drummond, David Welch, Andrew Sporle, James Hadfield, Xiaoyun Ren, Matt Storey, Lauren Jelly, Sarah Jefferies, Sue Huang and Edward Holmes.

All investigators worked collaboratively on this project

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$600,000 MBIE — COVID-19 Innovation Acceleration Fund

ANZSRC codes

Local award ID

  • 310510 Molecular evolution
  • 310509 Genomics
  • 310706 Virology
  • 310410 Phylogeny and comparative analysis
UOOX1918

Purpose of collaboration

There has been an enormous global effort to contribute and share genomic data from SARS-CoV-2 to inform local authorities and the international community about key aspects of the pandemic. Analyses of genomic data have played an important role in tracking the epidemiology and evolution of the virus in real-time. This has led to a greater understanding of different COVID-19 outbreaks and their spread. We aimed to use advanced sequencing technologies that can rapidly generate whole viral genomes directly from patient samples collected in New Zealand. We generated genomic data to track - in real-time - the epidemiology and evolution of SARS-CoV-2 here in Aotearoa.

Have our Say: Social connectedness among older people during COVID-19

Key researchers

Merryn Gott, Tessa Morgan, Lisa Williams, Janine Wiles, Stella Black, Tess Moeke-Maxwell, Anne Koh, Liz Fanueli, Jing Xu, Kathryn Morgan, Hetty Goodwin


Portrait of the Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield painted on a rock.

Portrait of the Director-General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, painted on a rock. Received from 77 year old participant.

“Dr Ashley was a rock thru lockdown so I painted him on one.”

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
The University of Auckland We are collaborating with the Auckland War Memorial Museum who are archiving the c.800 letters collected as part of the project.

We have an on-going research relationship with Age Concern and they are supporting this project. For example, they supported recruitment of older letter writers and some of their members took part in our provider survey; we will disseminate findings to them and discuss implications for their practice.

Funding provided by the AMRF.

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$98,257 Auckland Medical Research Foundation - COVID-19 Research Fund

ANZSRC codes COVID-19 database ID/Local award ID
  • 42 Health sciences
  • 43 History, heritage and archaeology
  • 44 Human society
CVDB-112 / 1720005

Purpose of collaboration

Older people were identified as particularly at risk of both the direct (eg death, poor health) and indirect (social isolation and social exclusion) effects of Covid-19. This project gathered new information about the experience and views of the first year of the pandemic from over 900 older New Zealanders.

COVID-19 wellbeing app

Key researchers

Anna Serlachius and Hiran Thabrew


A series of fourteen screenshots of each page of the wellbeing app, Whitu – 7 Ways in 7 Days.

Screenshots from the wellbeing app, Whitu – 7 Ways in 7 Days.

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
The University of Auckland
  • Eva Morunga (Maori co-investigator)
  • Nic Cao (Pasifika co-investigator)
  • Alana Cavadnino (co-investigator, biostatistician)
  • David Lim (Research assistant)
  • Anna Boggis (research assistant)

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$98,281 Auckland Medical Research Foundation - COVID-19 Research Fund

ANZSRC codes COVID-19 database ID/Local award ID
  • 420603 Health promotion
  • 420602 Health equity
  • 520302 Clinical psychology
  • 520303 Counselling psychology
CVDB-126 / 1720008

Purpose of collaboration

Maintaining and improving youth well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic

Harirū, hongi and hau in the time of COVID-19

Key researchers

Associate Professor Marama Muru-Lanning, Dr Tia Dawes, Dr Hilary Lapsley, Professor Ngāpare Hopa, Dr Ngahuia Dixon, Charmaine Tukiri, Nicholas Jones, Charlotte Muru-Lanning & Moana Oh, Dr Keri Mills, Dr Suzanne Woodward


Screenshot from a Zoom hui with ‘Harirū, Hongi and Hau in the time of COVID-19 research team’, including community kaumātua researchers.

A Zoom hui with ‘Harirū, Hongi and Hau in the time of COVID-19 research team’, including community kaumātua researchers.

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
James Henare Research Centre

University of Auckland/Waipapa Taumata Rau  
 Information not provided

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$101,922 Health Research Council - 2020 COVID-19 New Zealand Rapid Response Research

ANZSRC codes COVID-19 Database ID
  • 4510 Te hauora me te oranga o te Māori (Māori health and wellbeing)
  • 4511 Ngā tāngata, te porihanga me ngā hapori o te Māori (Māori peoples, society and community)
  • 4203 Health services and systems
CVDB-076 / 20/1097

Purpose of collaboration

We aimed to explore kaumātua experiences during and shortly after the first COVID-19 lockdown in Aotearoa/New Zealand. We were particularly interested in how kaumātua understand the tapu of the body and tikanga relevant to the spread of COVID-19.

Rapid diagnosis and genome sequencing to follow CoV-2019 outbreak

Key researchers

Olin Silander, Nikki Freed


Lead researchers, Dr Nikki Freed and Dr Olin Silander and their team tasked with developing cleverer ways of sequencing the genome of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Lead researchers Dr Nikki Freed and Dr Olin Silander and their team tasked with developing cleverer ways of sequencing the genome of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Lead Organisation Partners/Collaborations
Massey University James Hadfield

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$165,471 Health Research Council - 2020 COVID-19 New Zealand Rapid Response Research

ANZSRC codes COVID-19 database ID
  • 310702 Microbiology, Infectious Agents
  • 320602 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Medical Biotechnology Diagnostics
  • 310509 Genetics, Genomics;
CVDB-137 / 20/1041

Purpose of collaboration

Rapid and inexpensive genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2.

Predict and Prevent COVID-19: a data driven innovation project

Key researchers

Colin Simpson, David Welch, Nigel French, Mehnaz Adnan, Binh Nguyen, Winston Seah, Andrew Sporle, David Murdoch, Michael Baker and Alexei Drummond.


Screenshot of a COVID-19 vaccination modelling dashboard with a series of graphs visualising COVID-19 data with a data filtering table to the left-hand side.

A screenshot of Institute of Environmental Science and Research's COVID-19 vaccination modelling dashboard.

Lead organisation Partners/Collaborations
School of Health, Faculty of Health, Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington; ESR; University of Auckland; Massey University; University of Otago; NextStrain (Dr Jordan Douglas)

Funding amount in NZD Funder
$533,224 Health Research Council - 2020 COVID-19 and Emerging Infectious Diseases Grant

ANZSRC codes Local award ID

320211 Infectious diseases

  • 420205 Epidemiological modelling
  • 420202 Disease surveillance
  • 420602 Health equity
  • 4510 Te hauora me te oranga o te Māori (Māori health and wellbeing)
20/1018

Purpose of collaboration

Collective expertise in Covid-19 modelling and surveillance, Phylodynamics and real-time genomics.