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Contact Details

Phone
+64 3 479 9462
Email
philip.hill@otago.ac.nz

University Links

Position
McAuley Professor of International Health and Co-Director Centre for International Health
Qualifications
BHB MB ChB MPH MD FRACP FAFPHM FNZCPHM
Research summary
International health

Research

Professor Philip Hill holds separate qualifications as a medical practitioner (MBChB), specialist public health physician (MPH; FAFPHM; FNZCPHM), specialist infectious diseases physician (FRACP), as well as a doctorate in the epidemiology of tuberculosis in The Gambia (MD). He is a fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand (FRSNZ). After completing specialty training in New Zealand, he spent 6 years working as a clinical epidemiologist at the Medical Research Council (UK) research unit in The Gambia, working on tuberculosis (TB) and pneumonia projects.

Professor Hill is the first holder of the McAuley Chair in International Health and is Founding Director and Co-Director of the Centre for International Health at the University of Otago. He is involved in research projects in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America and the Pacific. He is also Adjunct Professor in the new Communicable Diseases Research Centre at the Fiji National University, spending 20% of his time helping to build the new Centre. His major collaboration is in TB research with the TB-HIV research centre of the University of Padjadjaran, Bandung, Indonesia. This collaboration has conducted observational studies and intervention trials, aiming ultimately to improve TB control.

Professor Hill has published over 300 articles in peer reviewed journals. His research interests include studies of Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and disease, Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage, disease and vaccination. Professor Hill has been a Lead or Co-Investigator on grants from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, MRC (UK), European Commission, DFID (UK), The Canadian Institutes of Health Research, The European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership, the New Zealand Health Research Council, the Marsden Fund (Royal Society of New Zealand), The National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia), the Department for Foreign Affaris and Trade (Australia) and the Global Fund.

In 2008 Professor Hill established the Otago International Health Research Network of over 100 researchers across all four divisions of the University, with an interest in health research in low-and middle-income countries. This Network has been renamed the Otago Global Health Institute and is now one of 12 flagship research centres of the University. He is currently a member of the Leadership Group of the Institute.

Professor Hill has a special interest in training people from low resource settings at masters’ and PhD level, with a view to them becoming internationally competitive academic leaders back in their home country. He has supervised over 40 masters’ and PhD students, who have had a very high completion and publication rate. He welcomes new enquiries from prospective students.

Publications

Ratu, A., Rabukawaqa, I., McGregor, R., Sassen, J., Cagi, N., Veitogavi, K., … Hill, P. (2026). Neutralisation capacity against SARS-CoV-2 ancestral, Delta and Omicron variants before and after heterologous booster vaccination in Fijian health system workers. Journal of Infectious Diseases. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1093/infdis/jiag363 Journal - Research Other

Hatherill, M., Clark, R. A., Martinez, L., Fiore-Gartland, A. L., Garcia-Basteiro, A. L., Churchyard, G. J., … Hill, P. C., … The Pediatric TB Contact Studies Consortium. (2026). Inclusion of young adolescents in policy development for new tuberculosis vaccines. Lancet Global Health. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/s2214-109x(26)00017-3 Journal - Research Article

Nijman, G., Lestari, B. W., Adolph, C., Baltussen, R. M., Harries, A. D., Alisjahbana, B., … Hill, P. C. (2026). Methodology and scope of peer-reviewed evaluations of TB programmes in high-incidence settings: A scoping review. International Journal of Tuberculosis & Lung Disease, 30(6), 255-269. doi: 10.5588/ijtld.25.0569 Journal - Research Other

Setiabudiawan, T. P., Apriani, L., Tehupeiory-Kooreman, M., Buil, J. B., Verrall, A. J., Sarlea, A., … Hill, P. C., & van Crevel, R. (2026). Early clearance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among Indonesian household contacts is not associated with circulating beta-glucan present at the time of exposure. Tuberculosis, 159, 102782. doi: 10.1016/j.tube.2026.102782 Journal - Research Article

Setiabudiawan, T. P., Apriani, L., Avila-Pacheco, J., Ardiansyah, E., Kumar, V., Alisjahbana, B., Verrall, A. J., … Hill, P. C., & van Crevel, R. (2026). Circulating metabolites associated with protection against Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection and inhibition of mycobacterial growth. Communications Biology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1038/s42003-026-10241-9 Journal - Research Article

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