Peter is  a  qualified  specialist  veterinarian  in  pathobiology  and small  ruminant  health  management,  with  advanced  skills  in  research  and development  project  management,  including  international  and  national  livestock disease control  of  mainly  grazing  animals,  over  a  career exceeding  40  years.

He leads  numerous  research  projects  that  have  attracted  over  AUD  10 million  in research  funding  from  industry  and  government,  on  small  and  large  ruminant health, production and welfare in Australia and south-east Asia.

He has a broad portfolio of research  interests, including:  (i)  transboundary  disease surveillance  and  control through  improvement  of  smallholder livestock production  systems  in  south  east  Asia;  (ii)  reproductive failure  in  ruminants,  including  infectious  causes  of  abortion,  especially neosporosis; (iii) genetic disease research of livestock, including discovery of many new inborn errors of metabolism and their exploitation as models of human disease or  leading  to  new  heterozygote  detection  tests;  (iv)  neuroscience  research, investigating the neurochemical and neuropathological basis of clinical neurological deficits in livestock; (v) infectious disease control research, particularly vaccination for paratuberculosis in sheep and cattle and parasite management; (vi) toxicological disease investigations, including studies on the pathobiological basis of new and emerging diseases associated with plant toxins.

Peter was awarded the 2011 Kesteven Medal, a joint award of the Australian College of Veterinary Scientists and the Australian Veterinary Association, in recognition of distinguished contribution to international veterinary science. He has published 180 papers  in peer-reviewed  journals,  >250  abstracts  in conference presentations  and >400  non-refereed  publications  on  the  diagnosis and  control  of  major  livestock diseases. 

With  a  career  that  progressed  over  13  years  of  diagnostic  services provision,  12  years  of  applied  field-based  integrated  research  and  surveillance management  and  now 15 years  of  higher  education  and  applied  research  project management, Peter has had the pleasure of supervising 15 completed PhD theses, whilst currently he supervises several others within his research projects aimed at addressing emerging issues in global food security and public health.