In 2025, many JPHE authors make outstanding contributions to our journal. Their articles published with us have received very well feedback in the field and stimulate a lot of discussions and new insights among the peers.

Hereby, we would like to highlight some of our outstanding authors who have been making immense efforts in their research fields, with a brief interview of their unique perspective and insightful view as authors.

Outstanding Authors (2025)

Jamie-Lee Rahiri, University of Auckland, New Zealand

Outstanding Author

Jamie-Lee Rahiri

Dr. Jamie-Lee Rahiri (Ngāti Porou, Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara, Te Ātihaunui-a-Pāpārangi) is a general surgical trainee who completed her PhD investigating equity in access to Bariatric Surgery for Māori in 2020. She established Te Piringa Kōtuku in 2022 to undertake independent Kaupapa Māori surgical and primary health care research alongside her husband, Dr. Jason Tuhoe, who is a general practitioner. She is currently employed as a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Auckland alongside her clinical training role at North Shore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Most importantly, she is Māmā to her three daughters, Nalani, Maiana and Amaya. Follow Dr. Rahiri on LinkedIn and X.

A good academic paper, in Dr. Rahiri’s view, has a clear aim or question and is written simply so that it is easily understood by readers from all backgrounds. Most importantly, it is built on strong ethical foundations and acknowledges the perspectives and data of those who do not represent the majority of their cohort, thereby avoiding harm to those communities. 

We are now in the era of artificial intelligence (AI), and as such, a strong moral and ethical researcher positionality has never been more important. As an academic, Dr. Rahiri uses AI platforms mostly for grammatical purposes but never to refine or direct her research methodology. She believes the most frequently encountered challenges in academic writing stem from a (mis)alignment of researcher integrity and passion with external expectations, which are largely driven by output goals often imposed on researchers as part of their research or clinical training. She adds, “I often hear that research is seen as ‘unenjoyable’ and a ‘chore’, which saddens me as a clinical academic, because research can be a powerful vehicle for transformational change when used responsibly and ethically.”

“I love how I continually grow and develop in my writing, discovering more questions than answers as I progress. Mostly, I am just incredibly humbled to be able to strongly advocate for my whānau, hapū, and iwi in my chosen field of general surgery through research,” says Dr. Rahiri.

(by Brad Li, Masaki Lo)