12 December 2025 Lincoln University researcher honoured with Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship

Lincoln University researcher, Dr Suliasi (Suli) Vunibola has been awarded a New Zealand Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship from the Royal Society Te Apārangi.

He is among only 12 Aotearoa researchers to receive the honour, which is designed to support mid-career researchers to firmly establish themselves as experts in their research domain and as leaders within the research community. The duration of Dr Vunibola’s Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship will be four years, and the total value of the Fellowship is $1,160,000.

His research project explores the role of Indigenous knowledge in food production systems— sustaining health, identity, dignity and resilience beyond sovereign borders.

Dr Vunibola explains: “Pacific communities in Aotearoa New Zealand experience disproportionate rates of diet-related diseases, with obesity, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular conditions occurring at significantly higher levels than the general population.

“These health disparities are directly linked to the erosion of traditional Pacific food systems, sedentary lifestyle and the increased consumption of processed Western foods.

“Despite substantial healthcare investments, current interventions have failed to curb this crisis because they do not adequately incorporate Pacific cultural values, knowledge systems, dignity and community practices.”

Dr Vunibola’s research proposes that Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) embedded in Pacific food production systems offers a transformative pathway to improve health outcomes while strengthening cultural identity beyond sovereign boarders, environmental sustainability and climate resilience.

TEK encompasses generations of accumulated wisdom about sustainable food production, preparation methods and nutritional knowledge that maintained healthy and resilient Pacific populations for centuries before colonial disruption.

Dr Vunibola says, “My research focuses on two key dimensions: documenting existing TEK in Pacific food systems, and activating this knowledge through community-led initiatives, with theoretical contributions.

“By bridging Indigenous knowledge with contemporary health strategies, this research offers an innovative approach to addressing systemic health inequities. The outcomes will benefit Pacific communities in Aotearoa while contributing to global Indigenous food sovereignty and dignity movements.”

Lincoln University Provost, Professor Chad Hewitt, says the Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship is a wonderful achievement by Dr Vunibola, and an honour for the University.

“Lincoln University is New Zealand’s sole specialist land-based university, dedicated to addressing critical global challenges through our commitment to research-led education. Our researchers are continuously contributing sustainable, real-world advancements across land-based sectors in Aotearoa and worldwide.

“Suli’s research project will demonstrate how traditional knowledge systems can inform effective solutions to contemporary challenges.

“His findings will be disseminated through academic publication, community forums and practical resources maximising the project’s impact across multiple sectors.”

Dr Suliasi (Suli) Vunibola

Dr Suliasi Vunibola (Fiji – Vanua – whenua of Naduru in Viti,- Fiji) is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Environmental Management within Lincoln University’s Faculty of Environment, Society and Design.

He is a transdisciplinary scholar specialising in Pacific studies, international development studies, human geography, ethno-ecology and ethnography, with a focus on climate resilience and adaptation, sustainable land, waterways, oceans management in the Pacific, and Indigenous innovation.

He explores the nexus of Traditional Ecological Knowledge and science within community-driven development as in agrobiodiversity through decolonised methodologies and discursive analysis.

He has contributed to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs-funded Pacific Ocean and Climate Crisis Assessment, a vast transdisciplinary study of climate crisis as a Pacific Island communities’ voice to IPCC and other global platforms.

His research also critiques neoliberal development aid and advocates for the flourishing of Indigenous peoples, including food security and food sovereignty – for example Māori and Pacific diaspora communities.

Suli has been awarded a Mana Tūānuku Research Leader Fellowship to explore how contemporary Pacific communities make use of traditional food production practices, and to use this knowledge to co-develop and pilot a culturally grounded, community-led and sustainable food production system. The aim is to demonstrate how Indigenous practices for food production can catalyse systemic change that could benefit community health, dignity and resilience in Aotearoa and beyond.

More information about the 2025 Royal Society researchers and scholars is available here >> 

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