Rate My Professor Steve Chambers

Professor Steve Chambers is a professor in the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago, Christchurch, within the Medicine faculty. He earned his MB ChB and MD from the University of Otago, an MSc from the University of London, and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP). In 1987, Chambers established the Infectious Diseases Department at Christchurch Hospital—the first such department in New Zealand outside Auckland—and served as Clinical Director until 2015. During this period, he was the only infectious diseases physician in the South Island for more than a decade. He founded The Infection Group, a key collaboration between the University of Otago Christchurch and the Canterbury District Health Board, which has become New Zealand's leading infectious diseases clinical research team and a global leader in research on pneumonia, Legionnaires’ disease, and staphylococcal infections. Additionally, he is the MB ChB convenor for Microbiology at the University of Otago Christchurch campus.

Chambers' research centers on diagnostics for respiratory infections, infectious diseases treatment, and intermediary metabolism, emphasizing the relationship between bacterial and human metabolism to enable rapid, accurate diagnosis and effective treatment. His innovations include diagnostic breath testing and urine/blood cell-free DNA tests for Legionnaires’ disease. As Chair of the Medical Committee of the Pacific Leprosy Foundation, he advances leprosy elimination in Pacific nations like Kiribati and Samoa through studies on rifamycin-based chemoprophylaxis and intervention modeling. Key publications include “Effect of copper spiked potting mix on the emergence and growth of viola and cabbages” (2026, HortScience), “A Review of the Efficacy, Safety, and Feasibility of Rifamycin-Based Post-Exposure Chemoprophylaxis for Leprosy” (2025), “Single-Dose Rifampicin Leprosy Chemoprophylaxis for Household Contacts in Kiribati” (2024), “Adjunctive intravenous then oral vitamin C for moderate and severe community-acquired pneumonia” (2023), and “The inhibitory effect of copper, zinc, and manganese on Legionella longbeachae in potting mix leachate” (2023). In recognition of his contributions, he received the Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) in 2021. Chambers also served on the Ministry of Health COVID-19 Technical Advisory Group and as a Science Advisor for Te Niwha.