And Dr Logan Walker, of the university's Christchurch campus, has received another prestigious fellowship, a five year Rutherford Discovery Fellowship.
Both fellowships are administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand.
James Cook Fellowships support the work of researchers who are recognised leaders in their fields and at the peak of their careers.
His fellowship will enable Prof Braithwaite, of the pathology department, to undertake research to develop a strategy for targeting a cancer associated protein, YB 1, as a new cancer therapy.
He will receive $100,000 a year, excluding GST, over two years and up to $10,000 a year in related expenses.
Some cancers were ''curable or manageable long term'', while others remained resistant to treatment.
These included ''aggressive breast cancers and melanoma'', which had ''poor patient outcome'', and new therapies were needed, he said in the research proposal.
A protein, YB 1, was found in high levels in cancer cells, particularly in advanced cancers, and was required for cancer cell growth and survival. It seemed to be ''an excellent target for new cancer therapies'', he said.
Dr Walker's fellowship is valued at $800,000 overall and will support a project focusing on ''Preparing for the future of genomic medicine''.
Rutherford Discovery Fellowships are awarded to the country's most talented early to mid career researchers.
Dr Walker is a molecular biologist with an Otago PhD in breast cancer genetics, and is a previous recipient of the Sir Charles Hercus Health Research Fellowship.
The development of next generation sequencing technologies over the past decade has revolutionised genetic testing of high risk breast and ovarian cancer patients.
Dr Walker will focus on developing better methods for identifying high risk breast and ovarian cancer patients, and new approaches for evaluating the clinical significance of genetic changes.
