Peter Gluckman

Sir Peter David Gluckman (born 8 February 1949) is a New Zealand scientist. Originally trained as a paediatrician, he served as the inaugural Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister from 2009 to 2018. He is a founding member and was inaugural chair of the International Network for Government Science Advice, and is president of the International Science Council. Scientific career Born in Auckland, Gluckman attended Auckland Grammar School before studying paediatrics and endocrinology at the University of Otago, gaining an MBChB in 1971 and an MMedSc in 1976 from the University of Auckland. After further training at the University of California, San Francisco, he returned to New Zealand in 1980 to establish a group in perinatal physiology as a career fellow of the Medical Research Council of New Zealand. In 1988, Gluckman was appointed Professor of Paediatric and Perinatal Biology and was head of the Department of Paediatrics. He obtained a DSc in 1989 from the University of Auckland. He then served as dean of the university's Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences whilst also heading the Research Centre for Developmental Medicine and Biology. In 2001, Gluckman became the founding director of the Liggins Institute, and, a year later, director of the National Research Centre for Growth and Development (later called 'Gravida: National Centre for Growth and Development'), hosted by the University of Auckland. He stepped down from both positions in mid-2009 to assume his role as the first Chief Science Advisor to the New Zealand Prime Minister. In 2007 Gluckman was appointed programme director for Growth, Development and Metabolism at the Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, where he is currently chief scientific officer. He also holds honorary chairs at National University of Singapore and the University of Southampton. In 2014, he was appointed co-chair of the World Health Organization Commission on Ending Childhood Obesity (ECHO).