To be a Knight Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit:
BRENNAN, Professor Murray Frederick
For services to medicine
Professor Murray Brennan is an internationally-acclaimed surgeon and is recognised as a leading figure in the field of clinical oncology.
Professor Brennan was Chair of the Surgery Department at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York for 21 years until 2006. He continues to hold the position of Benno C. Schmidt Chair in Clinical Oncology, and since 2010 he has been the Director of Bobst International Centre and Vice President for International Programs at Sloan-Kettering. He has been instrumental in raising funds and creating opportunities for medical research by New Zealanders, in both New Zealand and the United States. He lectured throughout the world and has authored or co-authored more than 1,000 publications in his field. He has held office in numerous professional associations and received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Service Award of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences USA. He has received four Honorary University Doctorates and 12 Honorary Fellowships. He has served on the editorial boards of some 30 specialist journals, including the 'Australian and New Zealand Journal of Surgery' since 1985. Professor Brennan led a team which conducted a landmark treatment study of 10,000 patients with sarcoma between 1983 and 2013.