Monday 27 May, 2019
Award-winning Tauranga urologist completes prestigious visiting professorship in America
A high profile Tauranga urologist has just returned from a prestigious visiting professorship in America and also
recently picked up three international awards.
Professor Peter Gilling was invited to be this year’s visiting professor at the renowned Sidney Kimmel Medical College,
Thomas Jefferson University, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania earlier this month.
“It was an honour to be asked by such an esteemed institution and a very enjoyable experience,” said Professor Gilling,
whose visiting professorship took place over 8-9 May.
Sidney Kimmel Medical College runs one of the most respected urology programmes in America and each year hosts a
visiting professor. Professor Gilling’s time at the college included giving lectures, taking journal clubs (a forum in
which students get an opportunity to discuss scientific papers and research-related issues), and speaking to resident
students one-on-one about their research.
Being asked to be a visiting professor at a top American university such as Thomas Jefferson is a rare honour for a New
Zealand urologist. Professor Gilling undertook his first visiting professorship at New Hampshire’s Dartmouth-Hitchcock
Medical Center 17 years ago.
In recent months Professor Gilling has also picked up three international awards. These included two at The Urological
Society of Australia and New Zealand (USANZ) conference in April: the Platinum Trophy for best endeavour presented at
the meeting and the Low-Arnold Award for the best podium/poster presentation in the field of female or functional
urology.
The third award was for winning a BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) debating contest at the American Society of Men’s
Health conference in Chicago earlier this month. Professor Gilling was declared the winner following an audience vote.
ends