Rate My Professor Rachel Sizemore

Dr. Rachel Sizemore (Ngāi Tahu, nō Ōtepoti ahau, Ko Hikaroroa te māunga, Ko Waikouaiti te awa, Ko Takitimu te waka) is the Māori Postgraduate Support Adviser in the Graduate Research School at the University of Otago. She earned her BSc in Zoology and Anatomy, MSc in Anatomy, and PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Otago. With a scientific research background in the Department of Anatomy, her academic interests encompassed histology, physiology, and cell biology, focusing on basal ganglia anatomy and physiology, synapses, dendrites, and dopaminergic neurons. She employed advanced techniques including lentiviral vectors, immunohistochemistry, transmission electron microscopy, and confocal microscopy. Previously a postdoctoral fellow in the Basal Ganglia Research Group, she contributed editorial assistance to studies on neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, schizophrenia risk factors affecting GABAergic-dopaminergic synapses, and fine motor capabilities in brain injury models.

In her current role, Dr. Sizemore supports Māori postgraduate students by linking them to university resources, providing advocacy, scholarship advice, workshops, research hui, and seminars. She coordinates Ngā Rā Tuhutuhi writing days, multi-day retreats, and ZOOM writing sessions to aid thesis completion. During the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown, she utilized Facebook and the Te Whare Tapa Whā framework to foster engagement, particularly through whānau-oriented posts featuring her pets, sustaining connections in the post-pandemic era. Her publication 'Te Whare Tapa Whā and Facebook: Use by Māori Postgraduate Students' in the MAI Journal documents this approach's effectiveness. Key co-authored works include 'Viral vector-based tools advance knowledge of basal ganglia anatomy and physiology' (2016), 'Treatment of Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy with Erythropoietin Alone, and Erythropoietin Combined with Hypothermia: History, Current Status, and Future Research' (2020), and 'A schizophrenia risk factor induces marked anatomical deficits at GABAergic-dopaminergic synapses in the rat ventral tegmental area' (2021). Dr. Sizemore's efforts cultivate Māori scholars, researchers, and leaders.