Pamela von Hurst

Pamela Ruth von Hurst is a New Zealand academic and is a full professor at Massey University, specialising in human nutrition.

Academic career

von Hurst completed a PhD titled The role of vitamin D in metabolism and bone health at Massey University. von Hurst then joined the faculty at Massey, rising to full professor in 2021. She established and is co-director of the Massey Vitamin D Research Centre, and is a part of the Riddet Institute Centre of Research Excellence. von Hurst has been President of the Nutrition Society of New Zealand. She says she is "interested in the prevention of chronic disease by achieving optimum nutrition and lifestyle, including physical activity. My main platform of research currently is investigating the role of vitamin D in health and disease. I am also interested in the interaction of genes and nutrients, and investigating the role of genetic differences in determining response to nutritional deficiencies". With her doctoral advisor Marlene Kruger she led research on the health benefits of drinking deer milk for preventing bone loss in older women. She led a High Value Nutrition-funded study on the effect of mussel consumption on osteoarthritis. von Hurst has reviewed Ministry of Health guidelines on sun exposure and vitamin D, was part of a Technical Advisory Group developing guidelines for eating and physical activity, and co-led a join New Zealand–Australian working group to develop a Federation of Oceanic Nutrition Societies.

Selected works