Symposium honours work of Prof Skegg

The most important aspect of his "very fortunate" first 63 years has had nothing to do with work, but with family and his marriage, University of Otago vice-chancellor Prof Sir David Skegg said.

In a short reflective speech to more than 100 people gathered at a symposium last weekend honouring his contribution to epidemiology and sexual and reproductive health, Prof Skegg said he had found the day "very moving" and he felt undeserving of the attention.

Speakers during the day, which was part of the 125th celebrations of the preventive and social medicine department described Prof Skegg as an inspiring mentor, teacher, discoverer, leader, valued colleague, and friend.

He could have added another label himself after recent events - relieved father.

During his speech he briefly mentioned his daughter had narrowly escaped being killed in the Christchurch earthquake.

He went on to say that while it was estimated that more than 200 people would have died in the earthquake, throughout the world about a thousand women died every day and would continue to do so in developing countries through pregnancy and childbirth.

That was more than two jumbo jets full of women every day.

It was a huge challenge to reduce those deaths.

Earlier, Prof Herbert Peterson, of North Carolina, the director of the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Research Evidence for Sexual and Reproductive Health told the symposium reducing the number of maternal and newborn deaths would take collaboration, wisdom and visionary leaders like Prof Skegg.

Prof Skegg, who has had a long involvement with WHO, almost regarding Geneva as a second home, said he felt he was "going to have to hang in there a bit longer " with the organisation.

He retires from the university in July.

Prof Skegg said he had been fortunate professionally, by choosing epidemiology for his specialty, although it had been unfashionable at the time.

Some people in the medical profession were " aghast" at his decision.

He had originally intended to be a general practitioner, but found he loved research and decided he would have a career in academic medicine, possibly endocrinology or immunology.

His fifth-year thesis looked at the knowledge of sixth formers about the effects of smoking on health, inspired by the work of Sir Richard Doll, who became famous for his work linking smoking with lung cancer and other health problems.

He was later privileged to be supervised by Sir Richard at Oxford University when he gained a Rhodes scholarship.

While he spent "seven very happy years" at Oxford, he thought about New Zealand every day and always wanted to come back.

He was appointed head of the preventive and social medicine department in 1980 at the age of 31.

Prof Skegg said at the time he was quite worried that taking over the department at a time when it was "in quite a fragile state" he was "probably kissing goodbye" to a research career.

"I was so keen to come back, I took that risk."

For a while he worried that the department might not survive and could eventually become a unit in the Department of Medicine, but under his leadership the department grew to become the largest in the university.