Matthew Peters is Professor of Respiratory Medicine at Macquarie University Hospital and also head of Respiratory Medicine at Concord Hospital. He trained at Concord Hospital before completing an MD under the supervision of Professor Norbert Berend, based on work completed at Concord and at Royal North Shore Hospital. He was awarded the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand Young Investigator Award in 1990 and was then the inaugural recipient of the Allen and Hanbury’s Travelling Fellowship spending three years at the National Heart and Lung Institute in London with Prof Peter Barnes before returning to Australia.
He has contributed to the training of more than 50 Thoracic Physicians now in practice. He has a diverse range of research interests including respiratory physiology, asthma and lung cancer but also a particular focus on improvement in public health, and has made a notable contributions in the area of Tobacco Control. This included a critical advisory role on anti-smoking advertising campaigns from 1997 to the present time. He has contributed recently to research and public discussions in relation to electronic cigarettes. He co-chaired the Thoracic Society of Australia working party on elctronic cigarettes, was a member of the NHMRC Committee advising its CEO on a revised electronic cigarettes statement and serves on relevant committees and advisory panels for the NSW Ministry of Health and Cancer Institute NSW.
Another passion is better care of patients with lung cancer. He chairs the Global Lung Cancer Coalition and was instrumental in the creation of the Kylie Johnson Lung Cancer Network, an important component of the patient support activities of Lung Foundation Australia, and encouraged and supported the establishment of the Australia and New Zealand Lung Cancer Nurses Forum.
He has received the Thoracic Society of Australia and New Zealand President’s Award for public health advancement through tobacco control in 2018, a lifetime achievement award from Lung Foundation Australia in 2017 and more recently was named by LFA as a “Lung Health Legend”.
In 2019 he was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant contributions to Lung Health through education and support of organisations.
His primary role within Macquarie Respiratory and Sleep is as Director of Lung Function Laboratory.
