About Peter Leedman, PhD
Professor Peter Leedman AO MBBS, FRACP, PhD, FAHMS
Seminar Speaker
Peter Leedman is the Director of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (Perkins), a Professor of Medicine at The University of Western Australia (UWA) and an endocrinologist (hormone specialist) at Royal Perth Hospital in Perth.
He graduated in Medicine from UWA then undertook specialist training in Endocrinology at Royal Melbourne Hospital in the 1990s. He completed PhD studies at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and post-doctoral studies at Harvard Medical School, before returning to Perth.
Together with Professor Peter Klinken, Western Australia’s Chief Scientist, Peter Leedman was instrumental in the establishment of the Perkins, the development of it into Western Australia’s major adult medical research institute and the building of two new state-of-the-art $190m research facilities at the QEII Medical Centre campus and at the new Fiona Stanley Hospital.
He is internationally recognized for his research on hormone-dependent cancers (breast and prostate) and more lately on poor prognostic tumors (liver and head and neck cancer). His team is developing new therapies for these solid tumors that they are translating towards the bedside. He is passionate about driving the Perkins to become a global Centre of Excellence, known for its innovative and collaborative approaches to solving some of the more challenging questions in medicine.
He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Director's, Chairman of the Perkins’ early phase clinical trials facility called Linear Clinical Trials Ltd and co-founder of miReven, a biotech company focused on developing a novel way to treat liver cancer. He continues to practice as a physician (endocrinologist) based at RPH and in his spare time loves to spend time with his family, play rock and roll in his band, ride, ski, read, experience new food/wine/cultures and travel.