Our people
EHINZ project team
Photo credit: Jeroen Burmanje, Patrick Hipgrave
Professor Barry Borman
Barry has over 30 years of experience in applied epidemiology, perinatal epidemiology, and environmental epidemiology. He has published papers in these areas, developed, operated, and evaluated numerous health surveillance systems, conducted investigations of disease clusters, and teaches postgraduate courses in epidemiology. A major focus of his research is providing robust epidemiological evidence for the development of policy and decision-making in the health-related sectors. From 2000 to 2008, Barry managed Public Health Intelligence (PHI), the epidemiology group of the Ministry of Health, New Zealand, and previously was the senior epidemiologist in several government agencies. Since 1987, he has been the Director of the New Zealand Congenital Anomalies Registry (NZCAR), representing New Zealand at the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Surveillance and Research (ICBDSR).
Barry is currently a member of 'The Ministry of Health Coronavirus Statistical Advisory Group'.
Kirsty Craig
Kirsty joined the team in 2022, having previously worked in data analysis and monitoring roles at the Ministry of Health and Canterbury District Health Board. She has a Master's degree in Public Health and an Honours degree in Psychology.
Domain lead: Transport, UV radiation, Māori environmental health
Domain second: Children's environmental health
Helene Marsters
Helene has a background in Geography and Environmental Studies. She has a Master of Science degree in Physical Geography from Victoria University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Public Health from Massey University.
Domain lead: Indoor environment, Border Health, Children's environmental health, Hazardous substances
Kylie Mason
Kylie has a Master’s degree in Applied Statistics, and a postgraduate certificate in environmental health. She joined the team in 2013, previously working at the Ministry of Health in data analysis and national surveys. As part of the EHI team, she has been involved in a variety of projects, including environmental burden of disease studies and developing social vulnerability indicators. She currently leads the population vulnerability domain.
Domain lead: Population vulnerability
Domain second: Air quality, Climate change, Indoor environment, Transport, UV radiation
Martin Wall
I’m originally from London and I completed a PhD at the London School of Economics. My work as a researcher and government adviser has focused on health, economics, development, and poverty reduction. This has included projects on HIV in the Russian Federation, financial flows in sub-Saharan Africa, addressing wellbeing in London’s most deprived areas and improving statistics at Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Finance. More recently, my work has been mainly concerned with addressing the economic and social determinants and correlates of poor health and health inequality. Before joining EHINZ, I was a data analyst at the Ministry of Health, contributing to the Global Burden of Disease project.
Domain lead:
Domain second:
Patrick Hipgrave
Patrick joined the team as an analyst in 2020. He has a background in physical and human geography and graduated from Victoria University with an MSc in Geographic Information Science in 2020.
Domain lead: Climate change, Drinking & recreational water
Domain second: Population vulnerability, Air quality
Ahmad Mahmoodjanlou
Ahmad holds a PhD in Statistics from Massey University. He joined the team in 2025, previously worked at Stas NZ as a data analyst in the Census team.
Domain lead: Hazardous Substances
Domain second: Indoor environment, Recreational water
Mui Nguyen
Mui has a background in Economics and Environmental Studies. She has a PhD in Economics from Victoria University, focusing on the impact of natural events on the wellbeing of people in New Zealand.
Domain lead: Air Quality
Domain second: Indoor Environment, UV exposure
Agnieszka Kowalik-Tait
Agnieszka (ag-nee-esh-ka) joined the team in 2018, having previously worked in environmental conservation and geographic information systems. She holds a Master's degree in Oceanography.
EHI Technical Advisors
A Technical Advisor is a highly experienced professional who provides specialised expertise and guidance to support the team’s technical needs.
Deborah Read
Deborah is a retired Public Health Physician specialising in environmental health. She was an Associate Professor at Massey University and Co-Director of EHINZ. Her experience includes positions in the Ministry of Health and other central government agencies, and as a Medical Officer of Health in several district health boards. Other previous roles include Deputy Chair of the Medical Council of New Zealand, a member of the Environmental Risk Management Authority and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms decision-making committee of the Environmental Protection Authority. She has also been Deputy Chair of the Advertising Standards Complaints Board, a member of the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal and the Veterans’ Entitlements Appeal Board.
Ridvan Tupai-Firestone
Ridvan Tupai-Firestone (known as Riz) is a Professor in Pacific Public Health at Massey University whose research is social and cultural health inequalities, diabetes, community interventions for obesity and other diet-related health problems, and works with young Pacific people with non-communicable diseases and is an expert in the co-design methodology. She was the Pacific Strategy Leader for the A Better Start National Science Challenge, and currently Chair of the Lottery Health Research Committee, and a member of the Health Research Council.
Skye Nijman
Skye Nijman is a scientific communications expert with a Master’s degree in Toxicology and Environmental Health from Utrecht University. Born a Kiwi, Skye has spent her life traveling the world and engaging in various scientific community initiatives, including climate activism in the UK, urban gardening projects in California, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) projects in the Philippines. An experienced sailor, Skye sailed from Europe to New Zealand, where she has now settled in Whangārei with her family.
Marcus Tamaira
Marcus’s first career was as a veterinarian working as a farm clinician, practice and corporate manager and government veterinarian for 20 years across the North Island. He now devotes his time to public health especially hauora Māori and Māori tino rangatiratanga (Māori self-determination). He has a passion for tāne ora, the mana and mauri of Māori men and boys, and is finishing a Master of Public Health on this important and emerging area. Marcus enjoys tackling difficult problems and finding innovations to help solve pressing problems including Indigenous inequality and applying kaupapa Māori research principles to this end.