Patricia Priest

Last updated
Patricia Priest
Alma mater University of Oxford
Scientific career
Institutions University of Otago
Thesis Antibacterial use and antibacterial resistance in the community  (2001)

Patricia Priest is a New Zealand public health scientist and epidemiologist who is Professor of Public Health in Medicine at the University of Otago. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest served as an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Health. She was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010. As of 2024 Priest is the Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the university.

Contents

Early life and education

Priest was a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. [1] She investigated the relationship between prescribing antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in the community. [2]

Research and career

Priest's research considers epidemiology and public health. [3] In 2010, Priest and collaborators Lianne Parkin and Sheila Williams were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel Prize, which is awarded by Annals of Improbable Research for bizarre scientific discoveries. [4] They were recognised for their work that identified walking with socks over shoes resulted in a frosty floor feeling less slippery than people walking without socks. [4] [5]

Priest studied the relationship between gardening and contracting Legionnaires' disease. She identified that Legionella longbeachae , which is present in compost and potting soil, could contribute to infection with Legionnaires' disease. [6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest was appointed to the New Zealand Ministry of Health Technical Advisory Group, where she oversaw activity on epidemiology. [7] She was responsible for advising the Ministry on surveillance and monitoring for COVID-19. [8] Early in 2020, Priest recommended that people wear masks to limit transmission of the virus. [9] She was worried that students would be responsible for spreading COVID-19. [10]

In 2022 Priest was appointed as the acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. [11]

Selected publications

References

  1. ↑ "Antibacterial use and antibacterial resistance in the community | WorldCat.org". www.worldcat.org. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  2. ↑ Otago, University of. "Inaugural Professorial Lecture – Professor Patricia Priest". University of Otago. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  3. ↑ Medicine, Department of Preventive and Social. "Department of Preventive and Social Medicine staff profiles". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  4. 1 2 Constantine, Ellie (2010-10-02). "Socks on ice a winner". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  5. ↑ Abrahams, Marc (2015-01-20). "Kiwis and the sensible quest against toppling". improbable.com. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  6. ↑ "Gardening this weekend? Beware of the compost". www.medicalnewstoday.com. 2017-06-24. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  7. ↑ "New appointments to the Strategic COVID-19 Public Health Advisory Group". New Zealand Doctor. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  8. ↑ Munro, Bruce (2020-06-13). "University research focused on pandemic". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  9. ↑ feed, watermark (2020-10-16). "COVID-19 disease comparison masks vital differences". Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  10. ↑ Trump, Eric (2022-01-29). "Students likely Omicron vector: experts". Otago Daily Times . Retrieved 2022-11-24.
  11. ↑ Sciences, Division of Health (2022-08-11). "New leaders in Division of Health Sciences". www.otago.ac.nz. Retrieved 2024-01-24.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.