Hemi Cumming (of Ngāti Raukawa and Ngāti Toa) has carried out research into synthesising the chemical pateamine, a potential cancer drug. The chemical is obtained from a deep-water sponge, Mycale hentscheli, which is endemic to New Zealand. Cumming was featured on the programme Project Matauranga, on Māori involvement in science. The presenter, Dr Ocean Mercier (Ngāti Porou), teaches Te pūtaiao Māori/Māori science at Victoria University of Wellington. She was the first Māori woman to gain a PhD in physics.
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