Rate My Professor Penny Hunt

Associate Professor Penny Hunt is a consultant endocrinologist and faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Christchurch, at the University of Otago, within the Faculty of Medicine. She earned her MB ChB and MD degrees from the University of Otago and holds FRACP fellowship. Promoted to Associate Professor effective 1 February 2012, her academic and clinical roles encompass research, teaching, and patient care in endocrinology. Her research summary highlights thyroid disease, with a specific interest in genetic susceptibility to autoimmune thyroid disease among New Zealand populations. This focus aligns with her contributions to clinical endocrinology, including studies on prolactin sampling, adrenal pathologies, and thyroid nodule assessment.

Hunt has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals. Recent key publications include: Wilkinson, T., Li, B., Soule, S., & Hunt, P. (2024). 'The utility of rested prolactin sampling in the evaluation of hyperprolactinaemia.' Internal Medicine Journal, 54(2), 307-311; Wilkinson, T., Hunt, P., & McHaffie, A. (2023). 'Two cases of adrenal malignancy with macroscopic fat.' JCEM Case Reports, 1(1), luac029; Wilkinson, T. et al. (2023). 'Correlation of ACR TI-RADS and patient outcomes in a real-world cohort presenting for thyroid ultrasonography.' Journal of the Endocrine Society, 7(10), bvad119; Gilmour, L. S. et al. (2021). 'Cushing's disease associated with 21q22.3 deletion syndrome.' Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health, 57(6), 943-946; Cawood, T. J. et al. (2020). 'TIRADS management guidelines in the investigation of thyroid nodules: Illustrating the concerns, costs and performance.' Journal of the Endocrine Society, 4(4), bvaa031. Earlier works include Soule, S. et al. (2008). 'Intermittent severe, symptomatic hyponatraemia due to the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion.' Annals of Clinical Biochemistry, 45(5), 520-523. Her research output demonstrates impact in areas such as adrenal incidentalomas, maternal hypercalcaemia due to CYP24A1 mutations, and management of Addison's disease. In teaching, she was awarded Best Consultant Teacher in 2019 by 5th year medical students, shared with colleagues Professor Richard Gearry and Professor Gary Hooper.