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Patricia Priest is a New Zealand public health scientist and epidemiologist who is Professor of Public Health in Medicine at the University of Otago. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest served as an advisor to the New Zealand Ministry of Health. She was awarded an Ig Nobel Prize in 2010. As of 2024 Priest is the Acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the university.

Contents

• Early life and education
• Research and career
• Selected publications
• References

Early life and education

Priest was a doctoral researcher at the University of Oxford. ^[1] She investigated the relationship between prescribing antibiotics and antibiotic resistance in the community. ^[2]

Research and career

Priest's research considers epidemiology and public health. ^[3] In 2010, Priest and collaborators Lianne Parkin and Sheila Williams were jointly awarded an Ig Nobel Prize, which is awarded by Annals of Improbable Research for bizarre scientific discoveries. ^[4] They were recognised for their work that identified walking with socks over shoes resulted in a frosty floor feeling less slippery than people walking without socks. ^{[4] [5]}

Priest studied the relationship between gardening and contracting Legionnaires' disease. She identified that Legionella longbeachae , which is present in compost and potting soil, could contribute to infection with Legionnaires' disease. ^[6]

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Priest was appointed to the New Zealand Ministry of Health Technical Advisory Group, where she oversaw activity on epidemiology. ^[7] She was responsible for advising the Ministry on surveillance and monitoring for COVID-19. ^[8] Early in 2020, Priest recommended that people wear masks to limit transmission of the virus. ^[9] She was worried that students would be responsible for spreading COVID-19. ^[10]

In 2022 Priest was appointed as the acting Pro-Vice-Chancellor of the Division of Health Sciences at the University of Otago. ^[11]

Selected publications

Scholia has a profile for Patricia Priest (Q90190637).

• David R Murdoch; Sandy Slow; Stephen T Chambers; et al. (1 October 2012). "Effect of vitamin D3 supplementation on upper respiratory tract infections in healthy adults: the VIDARIS randomized controlled trial". JAMA . 308 (13): 1333–1339. doi:10.1001/JAMA.2012.12505. ISSN   0098-7484. PMID   23032549. Wikidata   Q34303576.
• Sarah Jefferies; Nigel French; Charlotte Gilkison; et al. (October 2020). "COVID-19 in New Zealand and the impact of the national response: a descriptive epidemiological study". Lancet Public Health. doi:10.1016/S2468-2667(20)30225-5. ISSN   2468-2667. PMC   7553903 . PMID   33065023. Wikidata   Q100397055.
• Irene Higginson; P Priest; M McCarthy (1 February 1994). "Are bereaved family members a valid proxy for a patient's assessment of dying?". Social Science & Medicine . 38 (4): 553–557. doi:10.1016/0277-9536(94)90251-8. ISSN   0277-9536. PMID   7514313. Wikidata   Q51136627.

References