New Zealand Board Members:

 

Emeritus Professor Pat Cragg (Chair), retired, formerly University of Otago (Joined 2020)

 

Chair of the ANZCCART New Zealand Board since April 2020. Pat is a physiologist, and from undergraduate training, a zoologist; her research area covered cardiorespiratory function and control in health and disease; her breadth of teaching is typified as a co-editor of a long-standing physiology textbook. Prior to retirement in May 2018, she held appointments at the University of Otago, for instance as Head of Department of Physiology, Associate Dean Academic Health Sciences and Acting Dean of School of Biomedical Sciences. Pat was on the University's Animal Ethics Committee for 27 years and on the ANZCCART New Zealand Board for 18 years, with four years as Deputy Chair, as well as seven years as the NZ representative on the ANZCCART Australian Board. For many years Pat was Secretary of the Physiological Society of NZ and Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Otago Medical Research Foundation (OMRF). she now Chairs the OMRF Council. From mid-April 2019 to the end of January 2022, she returned from retirement to be the Acting Deputy Vice-Chancellor Academic at the University of Otago.

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Ian Saldanha (Deputy Chair), Biosecurity & Animal Welfare Advisor, Cawthron Institute (Joined 2021)

 

I have been involved in the lab animal industry for over 10 years. Before taking up a position at the Cawthron Institute in Nelson, I was the Head of the Animal facility at the Malaghan Institute in Wellington. This is where my passion for working with animals grew. During this time, I served on the executive committee for Australia New Zealand Laboratory Animal Association (ANZLAA) for a few years where I used this opportunity to support those that work in the animal science field and meet others from the industry. One of the highlights in my career was getting the opportunity to travel the world, visit other animal facilities, and gain an understanding about how they operate. Outside my profession I have a love for the outdoors in particular running. I enjoy travelling, meeting new people, and of course spending time with my family.

 

Dr Arnja Dale, Chief Scientific Officer, Royal New Zealand SPCA (Joined 2016)

 

Arnja has over 20 years working in the field of animal welfare science in New Zealand and overseas. Arnja is the Chief Scientific Officer at SPCA New Zealand. Prior to joining SPCA, Arnja was a Senior Lecturer in Animal Welfare Science, Ethics and Law, leading numerous research projects, and also led the animal welfare investigations training programme at Unitec. She is a current member of the ANZCCART NZ, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) and the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC). Arnja is passionate about animal welfare science and changing the hearts and minds of the next generation through evidence-based education initiatives. Arnja lives in Auckland with her husband, 3 children, and her dog and cat..

 

Susan Doohan, Animal Welfare Officer, AgResearch (Joined 2024)

 

Susan Doohan is a Massey trained veterinarian working as an Animal Welfare Officer based at AgResearch Grasslands Campus for the last 7 years. From an initial background in mixed practice, with a later focus on dairy cattle production, she enjoys getting to interact with inspiring research on a daily basis. Further education has included Massey postgraduate courses, and gaining Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists membership in Animal Welfare in 2021. Working with technicians, farm staff, and scientists from varied backgrounds and skill levels, to train them to perform research and husbandry manipulations on production species, is a strong area of interest, alongside implementation of the 3R’s.

 

Dr Nadia Mitchell, Senior Lecturer, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Lincoln University (Joined 2025)

I am a neuroscientist at Lincoln University, where I lead the ovine Batten disease research programme. My research explores translational brain- and eye-directed gene therapies in sheep, and preclinical data from my laboratory has led to the FDA clearance of two gene therapy products and supported human clinical trials for CLN5 Batten disease and Frontotemporal Dementia in collaboration with industry partners. I am a passionate advocate for sustainable and ethical animal research and as an educator, my role is to instil a deep understanding of, and commitment to, animal welfare practices in research and applied farming settings. Outside of work, I love to run, walk and explore Aotearoa New Zealand with my friends and family.

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Dr Mike Pankhurst, Senior Lecturer, Department of Anatomy, University of Otago (Joined 2024)

Mike is reproductive biologist who specialises in the biology of the ovary and female infertility. Mike began research with animals nearly 20 years ago at the University of Tasmania during his PhD studies examining tissue repair following brain injury. Since 2011, Dr Pankhurst has been investigating female reproduction and fertility at the University of Otago, initially as a postdoctoral fellow and now as Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy. Mike’s research team conducts experiments with mouse models but also makes use of alternative techniques such as human (blood) samples, tissue discarded from abattoirs, mathematical models, cell culture, protein-based research and re-analysis of historic archived tissues (microscope slides) using new technologies. Mike is passionate about using a broad range of techniques because this helps to reduce the number of experiments involving animals but also increases the breadth of knowledge gained by research. Mike is the former chair of the Animal Users Group, and a current member of the Animal Practices and Compliances Steering Group, at the University of Otago.

 

Stacey Parbhu, Animal Welfare Science Manager, Ministry for Primary Industries (Joined 2023)

 

Stacey is currently leading the Animal Welfare systems team at MPI. As part of this role, she works alongside the National Animal Ethics Advisory Committee (NAEAC) and a team of technical and science advisors to ensure good governance to support RTT activities across New Zealand. She has been active in the care of companion animals, research animal husbandry, animal project management and animal facility management in a variety of positions since 2007, including AgResearch and Massey University. In 2017, Stacey moved to Te Herenga Waka | Victoria University in Wellington, to operate their brand-new small animal facility, eventually becoming the facility manager. In 2024 Stacey finalised her master’s thesis which utilised a mouse IVF model, providing her a greater understanding of the challenges and complexities many organisations will encounter with animal replacement techniques

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ANZCCART Fellow (observer) - vacant

 

The ANZCCART Fellow is an ANZCCART board observer position for early stage researchers, to both give early stage researchers an opportunity for ANZCCART board experience, but also to inform the Board with their perspectives.

 

Previous ANZCCART Fellows were:

• 2023-2025: Morgan Heslop, doctoral student, Massey University

• 2021-2023: Essie Van Zuylen, Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Canterbury

 

ANZCCART NZ EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Dr Marc Rands

 

I was born in Lower Hutt and my father was a pākehā and my mother Canadian. My family moved to the UK when I was eight, and I was schooled in London, before completing a degree in Marine and Environmental Biology at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, and a doctorate from the University of Oxford (Linacre College) studying sea anemones with symbiotic algae. I met my wife at university in Scotland, and we lived in Perth (Scotland) with our two sons while undertaking work at the Institute of Aquaculture at the University of Stirling, then working at the Scottish Higher Education Funding Council in Edinburgh, before moving to the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1998. In 2010, I took up a position at the Royal Society of New Zealand, where I worked on supporting the Society’s expert advice, and then supporting the Society's Academy. As the ANZCCART NZ Executive Officer, I work with the Board supporting the responsible use of animals in research and teaching.