Dr Jason Gurney (Ngapuhi) is the Director of the Cancer and Chronic Conditions (C3) Research Group, and an Associate Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago (Wellington campus). He has worked in the public health sector in epidemiology for the past 15 years. In 2018 he was awarded the Health Research Council of New Zealand (HRC) Maori Emerging Leader Fellowship, and in 2023 was part of a team awarded the HRC Liley Medal for research into the causes of rheumatic fever. The Twisted Chain is his first book.