ProfessorGregory Peterson

Gregory Peterson is Distinguished Professor of Pharmacy and Chair of the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Tasmania and Adjunct Professor, University of Canberra.

He is a practicing pharmacist and was Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Health (responsible for research) and Co-Director of Health Services Innovation Tasmania (2013-2018), working collaboratively with the State’s health system to facilitate redesign across the acute health sector and its community interface. In 2016 Health Services Innovation Tasmania was recognised via short-listing for two APAC international health innovation awards (one of which was in seamless integration between academia and a health system).

His research has spanned a breadth from laboratory-based (e.g. development of novel analytical methods for drugs and large molecules) through to applied practice-based research. His primary interests are clinical pharmacology, pharmacy practice, health service design and improvement, and health informatics. He has led many state and national projects directed at improving patient outcomes in community, hospital and aged care sectors. These have generally been multi-disciplinary projects, working cooperatively with a large range of individuals, and external health care, industry, government and professional organisations. It included close collaboration with the Tasmanian health system to improve organisational culture and performance in the acute hospital sector. He was the CI for the highly successful RedUSe project, which promoted the appropriate use of sedative medication in 150 aged care facilities across Australia. It was highlighted at the Aged Care Royal Commission, and was awarded the Stawell Prize for best research manuscript, Medical Journal of Australia in 2019.

Working in his own pharmacy while maintaining an eminent university career and community health role is what keeps Greg in touch with what the community needs from its pharmacists.

“I’ve been fortunate to keep practising in community pharmacy throughout my academic career, which is critically important for learning about the real-world experiences of consumers and seeing what needs tackling through research to improve outcomes from medicine use in the community,” Professor Peterson said. He is accredited to perform Government-funded medication reviews,

Driven by a desire to directly help others and a need for a career which offered variety, Professor Peterson earned his earliest work experience as a pharmacy undergraduate in general medical practices, aged care settings and community and hospital pharmacies.

As an intern he worked both in nursing homes and community and hospital pharmacies in low socioeconomic areas of Hobart and Melbourne, where he found medicine related health issues predominant.

Having a positive impact on the community and on its still unacceptably high number of serious medicine related issues, is something that still drives Professor Peterson’s research and work today.

He was previously senior clinical pharmacist at Western Hospital, Footscray. He acted as a consultant for 8 years as the sole Medical Advisor to Sigma/Aspen Pharmaceuticals Pty Ltd, and has written many expert reports and submissions to the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

During his career, he has supervised over 60 research higher degree students, received competitive research funding of over $70 million as Chief Investigator, and has more than 700 published reviewed papers.

He has been awarded Fellowship status of all the principal professional organisations in Australia - Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, Society of Hospital Pharmacists of Australia (by examination) and the Australasian College of Pharmacy.

He was awarded the highest honour in pharmacy – Australian Pharmacist of the Year, 2007, as well as a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia, 2014, for research and the Australasian Pharmaceutical Science Association Lecturer, in recognition of his research career, 2012. He was recognised as an Expertscape World Expert in Pharmaceutical Services, based on PubMed-based algorithms (top 0.1% of scholars in Pharmaceutical Services over the past 10 years) in 2021, was ranked second in the world as a global reviewer in the field of Pharmacology and Toxicology in Publons’ Peer Review Awards in 2018, and top 1% of global reviewers in (i) the field of Pharmacology and Toxicology and (ii) Cross-Fields in Publons’ Peer Review Awards in 2019.

He was appointed by the ARC as an expert panel member for health and medical research in adjudging the 2018 Excellence in Research in Australia (ERA). He has been a regular grants assessor and panel member for major bodies, including NHMRC Development Grants (and Panel member), NMHRC and MRFF Research Grants (including Early-Mid Career Fellowships), the Singapore National Medical Research Council, ZonMw – The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development, Swiss National Science Foundation Grant, Health Research Council of New Zealand and the Emergency Medicine Foundation (Qld).