Chris Print - Vocational

Our Newest Member Chris Print gave us his vocational on 31 March 2026.

As is always the case Chris's vocational showed what a diverse and extra-ordinary membership we have.

His vocational is sumarised below.

Chris told us of his background, mentioning his birth in the Manawatu and the history of his great-grandfather's land, which was acquired at gunpoint.

He attended King's College, where he struggled academically due to dyslexia but was supported by dedicated teachers, particularly a biology teacher who introduced him to science. His passion for science led him to medical school. Outside of medical school, he sailed, and raced Javelins competitively. During this period he met his wife, Adele, and later served in the New Zealand Army and special services in the UK.

Chris spoke of his transition from the military to medicine, driven by a mountaineering accident that ended his plans for a military career.

He became passionate about medicine and research, working with surgeon Jim Shaw on a research project that sparked his interest in changing the future of medicine. In Dunedin, he conducted a large research program on asthma and later worked with Jim Watson and Jeff Christmas at Genesis, New Zealand's first biotech company.

He was involved in the human genome project, cloning a human gene named CG1, and worked as a postdoctoral fellow in Melbourne.

Chris then moved to Cambridge, UK, as a fellow at St Edmunds College, where he worked and subsequently founded a biotech company using deep biological knowledge and Bayesian statistics. The company, initially based in Delaware for tax reasons, later moved to Japan and successfully helped drug companies fail drugs early in the pipeline. Despite some financial issues the company went public just before the 2000 dot-com crash, allowing the team to take an exit.  Chris then returned to New Zealand, focusing on combining traditional clinical acumen with genomics and mathematics to make a difference in patient care.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Chris served as a director and later as chair of ESR, contributing to the sequencing and analysis of the covid virus. Chris emphasised the importance of information in fighting pandemics and the need for better preparedness. Chris is involved with the Auckland Regional Biobank, which collects tissues for research with ethical approval and consent.

Going forward, Chris talked about his work with Kea, a New Zealand organization that links New Zealanders to companies and academics overseas. He highlighted the importance of networking and collaboration, particularly with young scientists and businessmen. His research continues to focus on precision medicine, using augmented reality to better understand individual patients, especially those with cancer. In particular he mentioned work being undertaken in relation to cloning a human gene using radioactive DNA and acrylamide, and the advancements in cancer research over the past 30 years. Chris went on to share an example of a patient with 40 metastatic tumors, where comprehensive analysis and AI/augmented reality technology were used to map the evolution of the cancer.

This work underscores the potential for future advancements in cancer research and the importance of continuous innovation.

Chris concluded by expressing his excitement for the future of medical research and the impact it will have on improving patient care.

All we can say is welcome to the club Chris.

James Lea Operations Manager Surf Lifesaving NZ Northern Region

James spoke to the club thanking us and John Hawke for the donation of five AEDs to Surf Life Saving New Zealand.

James told us of the impact of AEDs on Coastal Rescues.  AEDs save lives by reducing survival decline by 10% per minute during cardiac events on beaches. James mentioned recent incidents in the Bay of Plenty involving rapid ambulance response and successful CPR using a defibrillator, highlighting its critical role.

James also gave us an idea of how busy Surf Life Saving NZ can be taking us through a sequence of events at Bethels Beach, Muriwai, and Piha Beaches.  Something that came through was that even though a Surf Lifesaving club may have closed for the day members still respond to requests for assistance after hours without complaint.

James told us Surf Lifesaving has a wide impact in the northern reagion and throughout NZ.  James told us that Surf Lifesavers reached out to over 100,000 people and have saved many lives.

A summary of John Hawkes Presidential Year.

After presentation of accounts, John Hawke gave us a run down on his year as president, a year in which he battled with heart problems but still managed to assist in signfiicant activities on behalf of the club:

including amongst other things; 

The donation of specialist chairs to the Cancer Society and the positive feedback received.

The donation of a van to the Motutapu Restoration Trust  for in their programs on Motutapu Island

The Mappas Awards 

Rebuilding the hydrophonices center at Epsom Girls Grammar and the collaborative work done there.

The Walsh Flying School

The work in Kiribati assisting with providion of aid 

The Ross Craig Oncology Award 

The hosting of Kalle Muscheidt an international exchange student

Circus Quirkus

And the Petanque tournament that John won.

Finally, John thanks those who had supported him throughthe periods he was in hospital - Warwick, Bill and John Meadowcroft.

Rotary Newmarket needs you to help out with carparking at Mount Smart stadium.

Each game, this activity raises up to $2,000 for the club, or around $60,000 a year. This forms a major part of the funds for the club's youth programmes including RAP and RYPEN. Recently, Go Media Stadium has started blocking the road around the stadium when large crowds are expected meaning we need more volunteers, and the number of volunteers is beginning to fall below a sustainable level.

Each game requires 8 volunteers, 3 at 23 Maurice Road and 5 at 5 Maurice Road. We don't expect you to show up every week, that would be silly. However, the more people who volunteer, the less of a commitment it is for each person and the more funds we can raise for the youth programs.

You would be expected to arrive 2.5hours before the game starts and help with taking money via cash and EFTPOS and guiding drivers. Usually both parking lots are filled within two hours and after that almost everyone can go home. One or two volunteers would need to stay at 5 Maurice Road until an hour after the game to lock the gate. We'll provide safety vests and EFTPOS machines. We recommend bringing a water bottle. 

This crucial fundraiser can't continue to exist without your help, so please contact Shaun Peacock (email: shaun_peacock@windowslive.com Phone: 027 631 0065) to sign up.