Our People

Colin McDougall joined CMRF in 2018, after a long career in senior leadership positions held all over New Zealand but particularly in Canterbury. He is happily married to Bernadette, and loves spending time with his grandchildren. "I am proud to be leading a Canterbury based organisation that for the last 60 years has made such a significant contribution to medical research not only in the Canterbury region but globally. The challenge is to build on the incredible legacy established by Professor Don Beaven and carried forward by subsequent Board Members and the staff of Canterbury Medical Research Foundation and its subsidiary New Zealand Brain Research Institute. With over 30 years experience working in the Canterbury and South Island markets I am excited to working with such a talented group of researchers and raising public awareness and funds to support their valuable research".

Barbara has been with CMRF since 2015, and working in the Not For Profit sector for the last 6 years. Her background is in finance and administration, spending a large amount of this time in the advertising industry, as well as studying Fine Arts, specialising in painting and photography. She is responsible for running the CMRF & NZBRI events, as well as being the person behind our website and social media presence, and the first point of contact for all supporter queries. You will often find her camera-in-hand at events, producing photo and video content for both organisations. She is married to Tim, and a proud mum to her two young children, Maximilian and Thea.

Aleisha is in charge of the CMRF Office and is responsible for administering the grant rounds for the Foundation as well as overseeing all administrative functions for both CMRF and its subsidiary, The NZ Brain Research Institute.