Rate My Professor Peter Bethwaite

Dr Peter Bethwaite, MB ChB, PhD, FRCPA, FFSc(RCPA), is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at the University of Otago, Wellington. He trained in anatomic pathology in Wellington, New Zealand, followed by postgraduate training in Oxford, United Kingdom. Throughout his career, he has served as one of the principal pathologists at Medical Laboratory Wellington and Aotea Pathology, and as a cytopathologist for Capital and Coast Health. Dr Bethwaite holds academic positions with the University of Otago and has contributed extensively to pathology education and practice in New Zealand. His research interests encompass cytopathology, urologic pathology, endocrine pathology, and gynaecological pathology. He was a Girdlers' Health Research Council of New Zealand Fellow from 1993 to 1994 and received a Meritorious Service Award for Services to Pathology and the New Zealand Society of Pathologists in 2019.

Dr Bethwaite has authored or co-authored numerous peer-reviewed publications on cancer pathology, particularly renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer. Key works include 'Renal cell carcinoma in New Zealand: a national survival study' (Urology, 1994), co-authored with Brett Delahunt and John N. Nacey; 'Nucleolar organizer regions and prognosis in renal cell carcinoma' (Journal of Pathology, 1991); 'Proteins from formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded prostate cancer sections that predict the risk of metastatic disease' (Clinical Proteomics, 2015); and contributions to studies on patterns of failure after iodine-125 seed implantation for prostate cancer (Clinical Oncology, 2014) and cathepsin D expression in colorectal cancer (Journal of Oncology, 2012). He has held leadership roles including President of the New Zealand Society of Pathologists, President of the Australasian Division of the International Academy of Pathology, and various positions within the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, including examiner duties. Currently, he practices as an Anatomical Pathologist at Awanui Labs in Wellington, continuing to influence diagnostic pathology and academic training in the field.