Biography
Sai is iTaukei Fijian (Somosomo, Taveuni and Levuka-i-Yale, Kadavu) and is a naturalized Aotearoa New Zealander. Sai joined the Center in early September 2024 on a Fulbright NZ Visiting Researcher fellowship. She is with the Infectious Diseases team and among other things, is keen to learn how Indigenous health knowledge and practice have been integrated with western biomedical knowledge and practice to improve health outcomes in tribal communities that the Center serves. Sai is a public health physician and currently pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Auckland where she’s exploring how to improve access to healthcare for children with acute respiratory infections to reduce morbidity and mortality in Fiji. She gained her medical degree and an MPH (distinction) from the University of Otago (NZ), a Diploma in Obstetrics & Gynaecology (OBGYN) from the Fiji School of Medicine and completed Public Health Medicine specialist training with the New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine.
Sai has worked clinically in Fiji and New Zealand in OBGYN and Public Health at hospitals and different health sector levels including both Ministries of Health in Aotearoa New Zealand and Fiji. Her experiences as a clinician and public health physician in both countries have fuelled her passion to better understand health systems and explore how to make them more ‘fit for purpose’, particularly for indigenous populations who access western biomedical health systems. Her areas of experience and research interests include maternal and child health, indigenous health, rheumatic heart disease prevention and control, health systems, global health, health diplomacy. Outside of work, she loves the outdoors – hiking, swimming, travelling and is a foodie.