Rate My Professor David Murdoch

Professor David Murdoch is a clinical microbiologist and infectious diseases physician in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago, Christchurch. He earned his MB ChB in 1985 and MD in 2003 from the University of Otago, an MSc in Epidemiology from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and a DTM&H from the University of Liverpool, along with fellowships FRACP, FRCPA, and FFSc(RCPA). His career encompasses roles as Head of Pathology at the University of Otago Christchurch for 14 years, Dean of the University of Otago Christchurch from 2016, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago from February 2022 to June 2023. He currently serves as co-leader of The Infection Group, co-director of One Health Aotearoa, Senior Associate in the Department of International Health at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and clinical microbiologist at Canterbury Health Laboratories. Murdoch volunteered early in his career at remote hospitals in Nepal and completed a fellowship at Duke University in 2000.

Murdoch's research focuses on the epidemiology, diagnosis, and prevention of respiratory tract infections, pneumococcal disease, legionellosis, bloodstream infections, and the role of vitamin D in infectious diseases, with ongoing projects in Africa, Asia, and Nepal. He directed the laboratory for the Pneumonia Etiology Research for Child Health (PERCH) project, a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-funded multinational study that identified key causes of severe childhood pneumonia and influenced global vaccination programs. His investigations into Legionnaires' disease established New Zealand's national surveillance system, highlighting the country's highest global incidence. In Nepal, his work on vaccine-preventable diseases contributed to national introductions of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine in 2009 and pneumococcal vaccine in 2015. Key publications include 'Clinical Presentation, Etiology and Outcome of Infective Endocarditis' (2009), PERCH study outputs (2019), and co-authorship of 'The High Altitude Medicine Handbook' (multiple editions). In 2020, he received the University of Otago Distinguished Research Medal, the institution's highest research honor, for his outstanding scholarly achievements and leadership.