Building & Maintaining Resilience
Cynthia Hunefeld – Building Resilience Through Science, Humour and Purpose
Cynthia Hunefeld, founder of Evithe Biotechnology and an award-winning scientist, has dedicated her work to creating groundbreaking plant-based treatments for inflammation. At the Journey to Excellence event, she stood before the audience and said, “I just flew back from the US and after that China, presenting at scientific conferences, and this is so much more exciting.”
Her journey began decades ago, shaped by a family crisis. At ten years old, her father, then a fit firefighter, contracted sepsis. “It turned him from an athlete and firefighter to a fighter,” she said. The family had been preparing to move to New Zealand. “We were going to move over and buy a pony. I still do not have a pony today, so that is a work in progress.”
In those difficult months, she learned a lesson that would stay with her: “When the situation gets tough, look for the helpers. The helpers are the real superheroes.” The people who made the most difference were often “the quiet people who step up, sit with you for a cup of tea, hold your hand, or drop food at the door without even saying a word.”
Humour, she said, became another survival tool. “When my father was in rehabilitation, we would rearrange the prosthetic legs by the pool, make water balloons from medical gloves, and open the sugar dispenser lid just before someone used it.” That ability to laugh, she said, still helps her and her team navigate difficult moments in business.
Her teenage rebellion was short-lived. “Turns out I am a real nerd, so I really suck at rebelling.” She channelled her energy into science, determined to help people live longer and healthier lives. Before going into the lab, she travelled to the Australian desert, where she learned from Indigenous communities about medicine. “They go to the root of the problem. They do not beat around the bush. I will use the forbidden term in science: holistic medicine.”
Years later, when her father became ill again, she was ready. With his doctor’s consent, she added a ginger extract to his treatment. “Within the week, he was allowed to leave the hospital.” That experience set her on a path to bring this treatment to others. She studied ethnobotany, completed postgraduate clinical research, and then began an MBA. “My son was born in the second week. That is why Victoria University now has change tables in the toilets. You only have to get that wrong once.”
Her company has now developed a ginger-based product with compound levels “3,000 times stronger” than normal, with no side effects in clinical trials. “Our product was at least 32 times stronger as an anti-inflammatory than a single compound,” she said. It targets both inflammation and disease markers linked to ageing.
Getting there was not easy. “The first question on a grant application is not, is this going to save millions of lives? It is, what is your patent position?” She sold her car and walked home to fund the patent. She also committed to a fully sustainable supply chain, working with Pacific Island family farms to grow organic, fair-trade ginger. “Our manufacturing process just has a waste stream of ginger-flavoured water.”
Evithe now has a herbal supplement ready for market, medical food ready for registration in Asia, and a botanical drug in the pipeline. “We can do this right here in New Zealand,” she said. “It really pisses me off that science funding is being cut. We can make groundbreaking medicines right here.”
She closed with her takeaways: “Focus on the helpers. A sense of humour really helps. Make the change you want to see. Exercise resets your focus. Find your tribe and bring your team together.” Looking at the people who supported her journey, she grew emotional. “I could not have done this without these people. They show what we can do when we connect tradition, science, and business together.”
Action Points from Cynthia Hunefeld’s Keynote
- Look for the helpers in difficult times.
- Use humour to lighten challenging moments.
- Focus on making the change you want to see.
- Commit to sustainable, ethical practices.
- Build resilience by staying active and maintaining perspective.
- Protect and leverage intellectual property early.
- Find and value your tribe — the right team is critical.
- Combine tradition, science, and business to create impact.
