Associate Professor Isaac Warbrick

Associate Professor Isaac Warbrick (Ngāti Te Ata, Te Arawa, Ngā Puhi) is Director of Taupua Waiora Centre for Māori Health Research.

He is currently leading international, nation-wide and community-based projects and collaborating with researchers in a variety of fields including environmental/planetary health, exercise physiology, Māori health, environmental microbiome, heart rate variability, and the use of traditional knowledge and language in reconnecting Indigenous peoples with the environment and enhancing health and holistic well-being. His past research has focused on the associations between insulin sensitivity (a measure of diabetes risk), body composition, and aerobic fitness, as well as mixed methods intervention studies looking at the impact of different modes of exercise training on health and well-being in Māori men. Much of his research is conducted at the interface between biomedical, lab-based, and indigenous approaches to research. 

His most recent publications have highlighted the value of kōrero tuku iho (Māori narratives and teachings) in promoting well-being and the connection between the environment and health and a physiological and cultural level.