Rate My Professor Lutz Beckert

Professor Lutz Beckert is a Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Otago, Christchurch, where he also serves as Dean and Head of Campus for the University of Otago, Christchurch, and Dean and Head of Region (Christchurch) for the Faculty of Medicine. He holds the degrees MD from the University of Hamburg, FRACP, MRCP(UK), and FCCP, along with an intercalated PhD in molecular biology completed during his medical studies in Hamburg, Germany. Beckert began his medical career with a house officer position in Masterton, New Zealand, followed by junior doctor roles in London, Adelaide, and Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, before completing specialist training in Wellington. In 1998, he joined the University of Otago, Christchurch as a Respiratory Physician and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Medicine. From 2010 to 2018, he led the Department of Medicine through significant challenges, including the Christchurch earthquakes. His clinical roles include Respiratory Physician and Sleep Physician, and he is a Senior Lecturer at the Māori Indigenous Health Institute (MIHI).

Beckert's research interests include venous thromboembolism, respiratory physiology, sleep medicine, clinical audits, pleural disease, and research into teaching. His expertise covers asthma and respiratory diseases such as smoking-induced lung disease (COPD, lung cancer), pulmonary embolism, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary arterial hypertension, as well as lung function testing and oxygenation during flying. He led a major international study demonstrating that most young patients with collapsed lungs do not require chest drains, thereby changing global clinical management practices. Beckert has contributed significantly to teaching, convening the inaugural Cardio-Respiratory module and the fourth-year Clinical Orientation programme for over 20 years, and collaborating on Hauora Māori education, including the annual hikoi to Ōnuku Marae. For his teaching in the Clinical Orientation programme, he received the University of Otago, Christchurch Matariki Staff Value Gold Medal. Key publications include 'High Flow Nasal Oxygen and Low Flow Oxygen Are Equally Effective in Providing Oxygenation During Bronchoscopy Under Conscious Sedation: A Randomised Controlled Trial' (2025), 'Review of the New Zealand Asthma and Respiratory Foundation’s New Zealand Adolescent and Adult Asthma guidelines' (2025), 'The Oxygenation Benefits Provided by High‐Flow Nasal Oxygen In Bronchoscopy may be underestimated' (2026), 'Participant perspectives on end-of-life health care services for chronic lung disease' (2025), and 'Consent to medical student teaching: an observational, cross-sectional study exploring the patient view' (2025).