Donald Dalglish McGregor (15 October 1938 – 17 September 2020) was a New Zealand scientist and research advisor.

Early life and education

McGregor was born and raised in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

to Roy and Elsie (née Hall). He married Marjorie (née Mauger) in

Timaru Timaru (; ) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to peo ...

on Easter Monday, 1966. After having completed an MSc with first Class Honours at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury (UC; ; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was founded in 1873 as Canterbur ...

, he arrived in

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

in 1962 to work as a Research Officer in the Wellcome Medical Research Institute at the

University of Otago The University of Otago () is a public university, public research university, research collegiate university based in Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand. Founded in 1869, Otago is New Zealand's oldest university and one of the oldest universities in ...

, where he obtained his PhD in 1969. His early work focused on the

vascular system In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart a ...

and the alleviation of

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

producing at least one classic paper (McGregor and Smirk, 1970) that was so well-regarded it was re-visited nearly four decades later. He also had a keen interest in mosquitoes, in particular Opifex fuscus (Naeroa) endemic around the New Zealand coast. The majority of his academic career was spent at the

. Despite his education in the medical school, he commenced a lecturing position in the Department of Zoology in 1968. He eventually progressed to a term as Head of the Department of Zoology (1980–1985), and as Dean of the Faculty of Science (1986–1988). By 1991 McGregor was Assistant Vice-Chancellor leading the newly created Division of Sciences.

Science adviser

McGregor was appointed chief scientist at the Ministry of Research, Science and Technology (MoRST) in 1992. He set up and managed the expert science panels established to inform government policies on

bovine spongiform encephalopathy Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is an incurable and always fatal neurodegenerative disease of cattle. Symptoms include abnormal behavior, trouble walking, and weight loss. Later in the course of th ...

, the incursion and eradication of

tussock moth The Lymantriinae (formerly called the Lymantriidae) are a subfamily of moths of the family Erebidae. The taxon was erected by George Hampson in 1893. Many of its component species are referred to as "tussock moths" of one sort or another. The ca ...

as well as

possum Possum may refer to: Animals * Didelphimorphia, or (o)possums, an order of marsupials native to the Americas ** Didelphis, a genus of marsupials within Didelphimorphia *** Common opossum, native to Central and South America *** Virginia opossum ...

-spreading of

bovine tuberculosis Bovines (subfamily Bovinae) comprise a diverse group of 10 genera of medium to large-sized ungulates, including cattle, bison, African buffalo, water buffalos, and the four-horned and spiral-horned antelopes. The members of this group are classif ...

.Atkinson, P.H. and Wright, D.E., 1993. The formulation of a national strategy for biological control of possums and bovine Tb. New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 20(4), pp.325-328.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McGregor, Don 1938 births 2020 deaths New Zealand scientists University of Canterbury alumni Academic staff of the University of Otago Scientists from Christchurch