Professor Peter Nigel Black, pharmacologist. Died aged 52.
Professor Peter Black, who has died suddenly, was regarded as an outstanding teacher and researcher at the University of Auckland and through his work as a consultant general physician at Auckland City Hospital.
He held many roles across both institutions and also had an international reputation in respiratory pharmacology research. Clinical pharmacology is generally described as the science of drugs and their clinical use, connecting the gap between medical practice and laboratory science and Black had been described as a champion of the discipline.
After completing his medical studies in Auckland he went, in 1985, to spend three years at the department of clinical pharmacology at Hammersmith Hospital in London, where his mentor was Professor Sir Colin Dollery, one of the founding fathers of the discipline.
Notes from Auckland University by associate professor Phillippa Poole, assisted by others, describe Black's research as "remarkable in its breadth and depth, covering the complete spectrum from basic research through to translational and clinical research".
"He was passionately committed to general medicine, the quality use of medication and medical education".
He authored more than 80 publications and was promoted to professor last year.
He was also a dedicated doctor to a wide range of patients, including those with complex airways diseases.
Some indication of his many research interests, often with others, include the worrying numbers of asthmatics in New Zealand and their treatment, investigating better hay fever treatments, researching diet supplements to help fight eczema, and the possible role of vitamin D in healthy lungs.
Peter Black is survived by his wife Bernadette Salmon (a paediatrician) and daughter Claire.
