Professor Sir Peter Gluckman is the Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister of New Zealand, a role he has held since the position was established in 2009. He is internationally respected for his work promoting the use of evidence in policy making and the translation of scientific knowledge into better social, economic and environmental outcomes. He is founder and chair of both the APEC Economies’ Chief Scientists’ and Equivalents Network (CSAE) and the International Network of Government Science Advice (www.ingsa.org). He is the founding chair of the Small Advanced Economies Initiative (SAEI), which is an intergovernmental forum focused science policy challenges unique to smaller jurisdictions. In 2015, Sir Peter was appointed chair of the WHO’s Commission to End Childhood Obesity. He is the 2016 recipient of the Science Diplomacy Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Sir Peter was the founding Director of the Liggins Institute and is one of New Zealand’s best known scientists. He recently won the Blake Award, the top honour at the Sir Peter Blake Leadership Awards. In 2015, he was invested to the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest honour which is reserved for only 20 living people. Prior to this, Sir Peter became a Knight of the New Zealand Order of Merit in 2009 and a Distinguished Companion of the NZ Order of Merit in 2008. In 2001 he received New Zealand’s top science award, the Rutherford Medal.

Sir Peter is the author of over 700 scientific papers, reviews and books for both technical and lay audiences. His research has won him numerous awards and international recognition including Fellowship of the Commonwealth’s most prestigious scientific organisation, The Royal Society (London). He is the only New Zealander elected to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies of Science (USA) and the Academy of Medical Sciences of Great Britain.