The Māori Health Committee is a statutory committee of the HRC and is responsible for advising Council on health research for Māori, including cultural issues relating to the gathering, verification, and validation of information. It held its first meeting on 14 February 1991, which was chaired by the late Professor Eru Pomare (Te Atiawa, Ngati Toa, Ngati Kahungunu, Rongomaiwahine, Rongowhakaata), the founding Chair of the MHC.
Peer review is undertaken each year by appointing Māori health assessing committees with expertise specific to the applications within a given funding round. The Māori health assessing committees are chaired by a Māori Health Committee member with other members recruited from qualified Māori researchers.
Committee members
- Professor Emma Wyeth - Chair (Kāi Tahu, Te Ātiawa, Ngāti Tama and Ngāti Mutunga), Māori Health, Director – Ngāi Tahu Māori Health Research Unit, and Associate Dean Māori – Division of Health Sciences, University of Otago
- Dr Annabel Ahuriri-Driscoll (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Raukawa, Ngāti Kahungunu ki Heretaunga) Senior Lecturer Above the Bar - Māori Health and Wellbeing, School of Health Sciences, University of Canterbury
- Dr Kimiora Henare (Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) Research Fellow, Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, the University of Auckland
- Associate Professor Cameron Lacey (Te Atiawa) Head of Department, Māori Indigenous Research Innovation (MIHI), University of Otago, Christchurch. Associate Professor and Psychiatrist, Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Christchurch. Clinical Director of Research, Te Whatu Ora, Waitaha
- Associate Professor Sarah-Jane Paine (Tuhoe, Ngāti Rongo) Research Director, Growing Up in New Zealand and Senior Lecturer, Te Kupenga Hauora Māori, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the University of Auckland
- Dr Naomi Simmonds (Raukawa, Ngāti Huri) Independent researcher and Kaitakawaenga Māori, Deep South National Science Challenge
- Dr Isaac Warbrick (Ngāti Te Ata, Te Arawa, Ngā Puhi) Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of Tapua Waiora Centre for Māori Health Research, Auckland University of Technology
Committee Secretary: Ms Le-Shan Pomana-Wesley - Manager, Māori Health Research
Additonal: Māori Health Committee Terms of Reference