Inaugural Lecture: Professor Malcolm Tingle

Date: 14 June 2023

Title: Tales of Toxicity, Testing and Teaching

In his inaugural lecture, Malcolm shared his experiences with various models to assess drug toxicity whilst trying to balance service, both within and outside of the University system, and how anything may end up in his teaching.

Malcolm completed his BSc (Hons) in Biochemistry with Pharmacology at the University of Southampton in 1984 before completing a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Liverpool investigating the impact of drug protein conjugation in immunological reactions. After that, Malcolm has focussed on the role of drug metabolism in adverse reactions, using many models ranging from in vitro studies with liver preparations through in vivo experiments, including on himself. After moving to the University of Auckland in 1997, Malcolm has continued in this area, but with a shift in focus to reflect the varying interests of collaborators here and attempts to learn some pharmacokinetics.

Through his work on species differences, Malcolm was initially co-opted onto the University’s Animal Ethics Committee, which sparked an interest in the ethics and welfare of animals in the RTT space that has continued, his knowledge of preclinical safety evaluation has led to on-going roles on the Psychoactive Substances Expert Advisory Committee and the Medicine Assessment Advisory Committee whilst his very basic knowledge of pharmacokinetics helped with his appointment to the Independent Expert Panel on Drug Driving.

Malcolm devotes a lot of his time to various aspects of teaching, either through content delivery or through the role of Academic Director of the School of Medical Sciences with its multitude of attendant committees. Malcolm is married to, and works with, Nuala and they have two children.