Rate My Professor Tony Kettle

Professor Tony Kettle is a Research Professor and Principal Investigator in Mātai Hāora – the Centre for Redox Biology and Medicine, within the Department of Pathology and Biomedical Science at the University of Otago Christchurch. He earned his BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Otago and an MSc from Simon Fraser University. Initially graduating in chemistry from Otago, Kettle worked as a research chemist for a food manufacturer in Auckland during the mid-1980s, where he explored free radicals to prevent product rancidity. Motivated to pursue academia, he completed his MSc in Vancouver before returning for his PhD under Professor Christine Winterbourn at Otago Christchurch in the late 1980s, becoming part of the nascent Free Radical Research Group, now evolved into the current centre.

Over the past 25 years, Kettle has meticulously probed the enzymology of myeloperoxidase (MPO), the haem protein responsible for the green colour in pus and phlegm, which catalyses the production of chlorine bleach from hydrogen peroxide and chloride ions in neutrophils to combat bacterial infections. His research elucidates how MPO-generated oxidants drive inflammatory tissue damage in conditions such as cystic fibrosis, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, and cardiovascular disease. Collaborating with AstraZeneca, he has developed targeted MPO inhibitors as prospective anti-inflammatory therapeutics. Ongoing projects focus on cystic fibrosis, heart disease, neutrophils, radical reactions, myeloperoxidase, and biomarkers, including MPO activity in faeces for assessing inflammatory bowel disease severity. Notable publications encompass "Myeloperoxidase enzyme activity in feces reflects endoscopic severity in inflammatory bowel disease" (Borichevsky et al., 2025, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases), "Plasma calprotectin and myeloperoxidase as biomarkers in inflammatory bowel disease" (Hou et al., 2025), and "Peroxidases" (Winterbourn & Kettle, 2025, Comprehensive Toxicology). Kettle's contributions have earned him Fellowship of the Royal Society of New Zealand (2012), the Society for Free Radical Research Australasia Distinguished Service Award (2014), University of Otago Research Excellence Award (2009), Iron Bolt Award from the Oxygen Radical Gordon Conference (2000), and New Zealand Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Award (1998). His work boasts over 20,600 citations on Google Scholar, underscoring his impact in redox biology and inflammation research.