Rate My Professor Farnaz Pourzand

Dr. Farnaz Pourzand serves as a Senior Research Fellow in the Health Environment Infection Research Unit (HEIRU) of the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington. She earned her BSc, MSc, and PhD in 2021 from Victoria University of Wellington. Her doctoral thesis, titled “Effect of Drought and Climate on Agriculture in New Zealand,” examined the economics of disasters and climate change impacts on agriculture. Prior to her current position, Farnaz Pourzand was a senior policy analyst in the Economic Data and Analysis team at the Ministry for Primary Industries. Earlier, she lectured for six years at Islamic Azad University of Shiraz and Payame-Nour University in Iran.

Pourzand's research explores the relationships between climate change, land use, water resources, and health outcomes, including how environmental factors like climate shifts and water quality influence infectious disease spread and community well-being. She also works on cancer treatment and improving care for Māori populations. As a co-investigator on projects funded by the Health Research Council and Te Niwha, she contributes to environmental health and pandemic preparedness. Key publications include “Drinking water quality and enteric disease: a nationwide case-crossover study (2015-2019) in New Zealand” (Chambers et al., 2026, Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology), “Examining Campylobacteriosis Disease Notification Rates: Association with Water Supply Characteristics” (Pourzand et al., 2025), “How spatial differences in climate affect agricultural land values in New Zealand” (Pourzand, 2024, Weather, Climate, and Society), “Regional differences in the effects of drought events on farm profitability in New Zealand” (Pourzand, 2023), and “Catastrophic Droughts and Their Economic Consequences” (Pourzand and Noy, 2022, Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Environmental Science). She is involved with the Cancer and Chronic Conditions Research Group.