JOHN LANE ORATION

Dr Raymond Johnston MBA MB ChB FRCP FRCP(G) FFOM DAvMed

Dr Johnston trained in Glasgow and graduated in 1973. He underwent specialist training in internal medicine and diabetes in which he is accredited. He was a physician in the University Department of Medicine in Glasgow where his research included an interest in abnormalities of blood clotting and spent a year’s fellowship in MacMaster University in Canada in the specialist Thrombosis Investigation Unit. He is a fellow of both the Royal College of Physicians, Glasgow and London.

In 1990 he joined the medical division of the Civil Aviation Authority and completed the Diploma in Aviation Medicine and formal training in Occupational and Aviation Medicine and obtained the MFOM in 1995. In 1999 he was awarded the Fellowship of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine and an MBA degree from the University of Surrey. He took up the post of Head of the Aviation Health Unit in April 2006. He is currently Registrar of the Faculty of Occupational Medicine.

PATTERSON TRUST

Associate Professor Peter Liu

Peter Liu is an Andrologist, trained in Endocrinology. He has spent 2 years at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester MN and one year at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles CA, funded by 4 separate competitively awarded Australian postdoctoral fellowships. He was promoted to Associate Professor in Nov 2006, and is currently funded by a NHMRC Level II Career Development Award. His research focuses on improving metabolic and reproductive health by attention to hormonal regulation and sleep quality. His capacity to pursue this focus is underpinned by productivity and international recognition in the fields of andrology, endocrinology and sleep sciences, clinical practice which is closely linked to his research, the institutional resources available to him, his success in obtaining grant funding, proven mentorship, and collaborations with leading colleagues.

Peter was awarded 2010 Young Andrologist, American Society of Andrology and is the first clinician-scientist recipient outside of the USA since the award’s inception in 1982. He won the Mid-Career Award (2010) and Young Investigator Award (2004) from the Endocrine Society of Australia. He won the outstanding reviewer award (JCE&M) from the US Endocrine Society (2007). He was a 2010 finalist for the the $1M Viertel Fellowship (1 of 6, 2 awards) and $1M Pfizer Fellowship (1 of 3).

Peter has been a member of the NHMRC Biomedical Postdoctoral Fellowship Review Panel since 2010, and has provided on average 2 expert reviews for NHMRC project grants each year since 2007. He is also Assistant Secretary, World Sleep Federation (2007-11). He is a reviewer for Diabetes Australia Research Trust and National Heart Foundation of Australia. He is also a panel member of the NSW Healthcare Complaints Commission. He provides expert advice to the NSW healthcare complaints commission to ensure safety of community from medical practitioners. He is currently the Chair (and previously Deputy Chair from 2006-10) of the Scientific Subcommittee of a Human Research and Ethics Committee. He ensures the safety of research participants in clinical trials and interacts with community members of the Ethics committee.

His research has been cited in clinical care guidelines published by international and national Endocrine, Sleep Medicine and Sexual Medicine societies. Contributions have been made to: (1) endocrine and cardiometabolic effects of sleep. Current NHMRC project grants are exploring the effects of CPAP therapy in Obstructive Sleep Apnoea, as a model of disrupted sleep, on hormone secretion, insulin sensitivity, arterial stiffness, visceral abdominal fat, erectile and endothelial function. The current proposal explores directly altering sleep on similar cardiometabolic and endocrine endpoints; (2) male reproductive ageing. His studies show that male aging is associated with multiple endocrine abnormalities. The current proposal uses similar mathematical methods; and (3) male hormonal contraception. He performed an integrated analysis of all studies performed internationally over the last 25 years, and showed that hormonal contraceptive regimens are fully reversible within a predictable time-course. A Lancet reviewer commented: “When male contraception becomes available in routine practice, many advisors are likely to refer to this paper to reassure potential users that their fertility is likely to return soon after stopping”.