Peter Leedman is the Director / Chief Executive Officer of the Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research (Perkins) and a Professor of Medicine at The University of Western Australia (UWA).
He graduated in Medicine from UWA then undertook specialist training in Endocrinology at Royal Melbourne Hospital. He completed PhD studies at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research receiving his PhD from the University of Melbourne. He subsequently completed post-doctoral studies in a Howard Hughes Lab at Harvard Medical School, before returning to Perth.
He is internationally recognised for his RNA-based research on hormone-dependent cancers (breast and prostate) and more lately on poor prognostic tumours (liver and head and neck cancer). His team is developing new microRNA-based therapies for these solid tumours that they are translating towards the bedside.
He is passionate about driving the Perkins to become a global Centre of Excellence, known for its innovative and collaborative approaches to solving some of the more challenging questions in medicine.
Peter was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the Australia Day 2021 Honours List for distinguished service to medicine, health and medical research as a physician-scientist, to professional societies, and to tertiary education.
Peter was appointed to the AAMRI Board in 2022. Peter is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS), a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Director’s (GAICD), Director and inaugural Chairman of the Perkins’ early phase clinical trials facility called Linear Clinical Research Ltd and co-founder of miReven, a biotech company focused on developing a novel way to treat liver cancer with micro RNAs.
Professor Leedman is driving a substantial initiative to develop a Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) in Perth, that would be similar in many ways to the Peter Mac Comprehensive Cancer Centre in Melbourne.
