Peter Molan

Born in Cardiff, Wales, on 20 October 1943,[1] Molan was the son of Vera Molan (née Boswell) and her husband Charles Molan. In 1963 Molan married Winifred Ruth Whitcomb in Cardiff.[1][2] They migrated to New Zealand with their four children in 1973, and became naturalised New Zealanders in 1977.[1][3] Ruth Molan died in 1991, and Molan later remarried.[3]

Molan studied at the University of Wales, graduating with a Bachelor of Science with honours in biochemistry in 1965.[4] He then undertook doctoral research at the University of Liverpool,[3] where he awarded a PhD in dental science in 1969.[4][5] His thesis was entitled Respirometric studies of the metabolism occurring in saliva.[5] A lecturer in dental science at Liverpool from 1968 to 1973, he took up a lectureship at the University of Waikato in Hamilton in 1973, and established the first biochemistry course at that institution.[3][4] He rose to the position of professor of biological sciences (2003), and was the director of the Honey Research Unit at Waikato from 1995 until 2013.[3][4] He retired from the University of Waikato in 2014.[4]

In 1981 Molan began to investigate the antiseptic properties of mānuka honey.[3] His research identified that mānuka honey has significant non-peroxide antimicrobial activity.[6] He went on to establish a grading system, known as the "Molan Gold Standard", for the quality of mānuka honey, based on the honey's methylglyoxal content.[7] He also investigated the use of honey as an aid to the healing of wounds.[8]

Over his career Molan wrote or co-wrote over 90 refereed scientific papers and seven book chapters, and gave over 60 conference presentations. He was co-editor of two books on the use of honey for wound management, was awarded several patents, and wrote numerous magazine and newspaper articles.[9]

In the 1995 Queen's Birthday Honours, Molan was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the honey industry.[10] In 2001 he was awarded a New Zealand Science and Technology silver medal by the Royal Society of New Zealand,[11] for "revolutionising the New Zealand honey industry and adding significantly to the value of their product."[3] He was twice honoured at the KuDos Hamilton Science Excellence Awards, receiving the inaugural science entrepreneur award in 2007,[12] and a lifetime achievement award in 2013.[13]

Molan died from cancer at his home in Hamilton on 16 September 2015.[3][14]