Siouxsie Wiles

Contributing writer

Dr Siouxsie Wiles is an Associate Professor and head of the Bioluminescent Superbugs Lab at the University of Auckland. She and her team make nasty bacteria glow in the dark to find new medicines and to study how bacteria evolve to cause disease. Siouxsie recently published her first book, Antibiotic Resistance: the End of Modern Medicine? She is also a keen blogger, tweeter and podcaster and is the 2021 Te Pou Whakarae o Aotearoa Kiwibank New Zealander of the Year.

Society

Sep 22, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Why we need to stay the course on elimination

There's some confusion around definitions. But to abandon elimination while so many are unvaccinated would put vulnerable people at unconscionable risk.

Society

Sep 18, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Should I get vaccinated if I'm pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or breastfeeding?

I know from personal experience the anxiety, the nausea, the uncertainty that can surround decisions at such sensitive times. But the science is clear.

Society

Sep 16, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Do I really need a Covid-19 vaccine, even if I'm fit and healthy?

Vaccination is our most powerful defence against Covid-19. Siouxsie and Toby address recent concerns, and how it works like a real-life cheat code.

Science

Sep 3, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How the world sped to the Covid vaccine summit

It's not about compromising safety. It's about riding the super highway.

Society

Aug 31, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Covid is different this time. Level four lockdown needs to be, too

We are facing our toughest challenge of the pandemic to date.

Science

Aug 27, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Ignore the uninformed windbags. Lockdowns really do work

To nail delta, we can't afford to loosen our grip.

Science

Aug 26, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: What we know about Covid vaccines, effectiveness and boosters

The latest research on vaccinated people and infectiousness.

Society

Aug 21, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: The red flags of Covid misinformation

As the vaccine is extended to younger people and the delta outbreak develops, the risk of a rise in misinformation is very real.

Science

Aug 20, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: The hunt for the missing link in NZ’s delta outbreak

The good news: we're closing in on the missing link. The bad news: there's a real chance of superspreading events.

Science

Aug 19, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How Covid vaccinated people can still get infected

And why it’s still so important that everyone who can gets vaccinated.

Science

Aug 18, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Delta makes this a new kind of challenge. But we can smash it again

We're in level four lockdown for the first time since April 2020. And we're facing a new sort of foe.

Society

Aug 12, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: We all want to open up to the world. Here’s what we need to do first

As the forum on 'reconnecting' gets under way, these are the critical factors we need to consider.

Science

Jul 15, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Boris Johnson’s dangerous experiment puts everyone at risk

Many people will die, and many, many more will be left with chronic health problems that will have personal and economic impacts for decades.

Science

Jun 23, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Why the Covid-19 weekend in Wellington is so serious

How did we get here, why is the alert level change necessary, and could this all have been avoided?

Society

May 15, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: There’s a lot of vaccine BS around. Here’s why I won’t be debunking it

Siouxsie Wiles wants to talk about all the 'fake news' about vaccines that’s floating around and popping into people’s letterboxes. But don’t expect her to debunk it.

Society

May 3, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Are NZ MIQ facilities really four times more at risk of breach than Australia’s?

A new paper compares outbreaks from border facilities on both sides of the Tasman.

Society

Apr 12, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: The data behind the decision to suspend arrivals from India in NZ

The temporary halt on travel from India to New Zealand is unprecedented. But so is the state of Covid-19 in India.

Science

Mar 26, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: One year on, we’re still learning about NZ’s first cases of Covid-19

A study published today confirms that our first official case was not in fact our first case.

Science

Mar 20, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: The great Covid bin lid mystery – solved

It all comes down to adjacent rooms and a domestic flight, new research suggests.

Society

Mar 9, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Reflections from the rollercoaster, one year after my first collaboration with Toby Morris

Twelve whiplash months on, Siouxsie ranks the good, the not so good, and the downright ridiculous.

Society

Feb 28, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Why this new case means level three – and, please, don’t misdirect your anger

Pause for a moment on today's anniversary of the first case to reflect on what could have been.

Science

Feb 24, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How the Pfizer vaccine for Covid-19 works

Today the NZ vaccination programme begins in earnest, with the first doses provided to border workers. Why is that so important? Siouxsie and Toby spell it out.

Science

Feb 20, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: The Covid vaccine is a delicious great big slice of cheese

Today the NZ vaccination programme begins in earnest, with the first doses provided to border workers. Why is that so important? Siouxsie and Toby spell it out.

Science

Feb 17, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: How NZ sleuths are investigating the new mystery Covid cases

One study suggests that the virus could be present, for a short time at least, on fabric items used by infectious people.

Science

Feb 15, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles: Your questions on the latest NZ Covid cases, answered

Microbiologist Siouxsie Wiles tackles some of the critical questions we now face as Auckland is plunged into a fresh lockdown.

Science

Feb 5, 2021

Siouxsie Wiles & Toby Morris: Covid-19 transmission 101

Our understanding of the way Covid-19 is transmitted from person to person has changed a lot since the pandemic began. A year in, here's what we now know.

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