Rate My Professor Eric Espiner

Emeritus Professor Eric Espiner is a distinguished endocrinologist affiliated with the Department of Medicine and Christchurch Heart Institute at the University of Otago, Christchurch. He holds MB ChB and MD degrees from the University of Otago, along with fellowships FRACP and FRSNZ. After graduating from Otago Medical School in 1957, Espiner commenced his medical career as a house surgeon at Christchurch Hospital in 1958. He advanced to medical registrar at Princess Margaret Hospital under the supervision of Sir Donald Beaven, completed his doctorate examining the pituitary's role in adrenal regulation through collaborations involving adrenal transplants in sheep, and secured a two-year travelling scholarship to the Royal Postgraduate Medical School in London and Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston for aldosterone research in hypertension and Conn's syndrome. Returning to Christchurch in 1967 as assistant director of the Medical Unit, he later contributed to establishing the Christchurch Heart Institute in the late 1980s, pursuing clinical research over 65 years.

Espiner's research specializes in endocrinology, with a focus on natriuretic peptides including atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), and C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP). He demonstrated the heart's endocrine function, pioneering BNP as a blood test biomarker for diagnosing acute dyspnoea due to heart failure versus pulmonary causes, as detailed in his seminal Lancet publication "Plasma brain natriuretic peptide in assessment of acute dyspnoea" (1994). Other key works include "Renal, haemodynamic, and hormonal effects of human alpha atrial natriuretic peptide in healthy volunteers" (The Lancet, 1985) and studies on CNP's protective roles in cardiovascular disorders, inflammation, skeletal growth, and fetal welfare. With over 20,000 citations, his contributions advanced peptide assays, ACE inhibitor trials, and hormone-guided heart failure management. Espiner authored the memoir A Physician's Journey (2025) and spoke at the University of Otago Medical School's 150th anniversary celebrations.