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Liza Edmonds is an Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Otago. A neonatal paediatrician of Ngāpuhi and Ngāti Whātua descent, she holds qualifications including BSc, MBChB, DipObst, DCH, MMed, and FRACP. She practices clinically at Wairarapa Hospital and serves as Associate Professor at Te Tātai Hauora o Hine, Victoria University of Wellington. Her career encompasses roles at Dunedin Hospital and Southern District Health Board, with extensive involvement in paediatric surveillance and mortality review.
Edmonds specializes in neonatal medicine, with research centered on health equity for Māori whānau, including neonatal hypoglycaemia, retinopathy of prematurity eye examinations, vitamin K prophylaxis, frenotomy complications, procedural pain management, and culturally responsive care in neonatal intensive care units. Key publications include 'We are here. Medical imagery reflecting whānau Māori in neonatal intensive care settings' (Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 2025), 'Experiences of whānau Māori with pēpi at risk of neonatal hypoglycaemia: A qualitative study' (Journal of Health Psychology, 2025), 'Newborn Vitamin K Prophylaxis: A Historical Perspective to Understand Modern Barriers to Uptake' (Hospital Pediatrics, 2019), 'Complications following frenotomy for ankyloglossia: A 24-month prospective New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit study' (Acta Paediatrica, 2020), and 'Low dose or very low dose phenylephrine and cyclopentolate microdrops for retinopathy of prematurity eye examinations (The Little Eye Drop Study)' (JAMA Ophthalmology, 2023). Her 22 publications have received 293 citations. She chairs the National Mortality Review Committee, serves on Health Research South Board, Aotearoa Neonatal Network, Carosika Collaborative for preterm prevention, and other committees advancing child health policy. In 2017, she was awarded the Dean's Teaching Award by the University of Otago Faculty of Medicine for child health teaching excellence.
