Rate My Professor Teagan Edwards

Dr Teagan Edwards serves as a Research Fellow in the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of Otago, Christchurch, part of the Faculty of Medicine. She earned her BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Otago. Her doctoral work, conducted at the Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, focused on the structural and functional alterations in the inflammatory protein calprotectin upon oxidation. Edwards identified that calprotectin degrades into distinctive fragments at sites of infection and inflammation. These fragments were found in airway fluid samples from children suffering from cystic fibrosis, a condition where white blood cells combat bacterial infections but inadvertently damage lung tissue. With substantial expertise in biomarker research and development, she utilizes advanced methods including enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and mass spectrometry.

Currently, Dr Edwards is investigating myeloperoxidase—an enzyme secreted by immune cells to counter pathogens—as a non-invasive biomarker for assessing inflammation in children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Her notable publications include: "Fecal myeloperoxidase levels reflect disease activity in children with Crohn’s disease" (Edwards et al., Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 31:800-811, 2025); "Myeloperoxidase enzyme activity in feces reflects endoscopic severity in inflammatory bowel disease" (Borichevsky et al., Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2025); "Biomarkers of oxidative and mitochondrial stress are associated with accelerated pace of aging at midlife in a birth cohort" (King-Hudson et al., Journals of Gerontology Series A, 2025); "Simulated gastrointestinal digestion of milk caseins containing A1 β-casein does not lead to increased production of inflammatory proteins in intestinal epithelial cells in vitro when compared to milk caseins containing A2 β-casein" (Aitchison et al., Journal of Functional Foods, 125:106669, 2025); and "Simulated gastrointestinal digestion of bovine A1 β-casein does not increase production of inflammatory proteins in vitro compared to A2 β-casein" (Aitchison et al., Journal of Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 40 (Suppl. 1), 2025). In recognition of her work, she was awarded a $109,992 Major Projects Grant from the Canterbury Medical Research Foundation in 2023 to evaluate a myeloperoxidase blood test for detecting inflammation in children with IBD. She also received a CMRF Major Project Grant in 2025 for research on inflammatory bowel disease in children.