Anthony Lowe


Associate Professor Anthony Peter Lowe is a British-Australian mathematical physicist and actuary. He is a former chief executive officer at Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and a frequent media commentator on prostate cancer and prostate specific antigen testing.
His current research interests are community attitudes towards prostate cancer and cancer survivorship, particularly the psychosocial and economic aspects of survivorship.

Life and career

Lowe was born in Malta and educated at The Perse School Cambridge. He studied mathematics at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 1983 and completing a Master of Mathematics in 1984. He subsequently moved to the University of Southampton where he completed a Doctor of Philosophy in theoretical physics.
After completing his PhD Lowe joined consulting actuaries R Watson & Sons and trained as an actuary. He was made a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in 1990 and was appointed a Partner of Watsons in 1991.
In 1994 Lowe moved to Sydney, Australia. Shortly after moving to Sydney he joined AMP Limited’s superannuation consulting business as Investment Consulting Practice Leader. Whilst at AMP Lowe led an AusAID funded project advising the Kingdom of Tonga on reform of their Civil Service Pension Scheme. He was subsequently appointed Program Director of a business change program in partnership with Andersen Consulting to reengineer AMP's corporate superannuation administration platform.
In 1998 Lowe joined Mercer where he held a variety of senior executive roles. He was appointed a Worldwide Partner in 1998 and Executive Director of Mercer's Australian business in 2001. From 2002 to 2004 Lowe was seconded to Mercer's US business as US Benefits Administration Practice Leader based in Princeton, New Jersey. Lowe's ultimate role at Mercer was Asia-Pacific Business Group Leader, Mercer Wealth Solutions with responsibility for Mercer's benefits administration businesses in Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong, including the Mercer Super Trust and Mercer Portfolio Service.
In 1999 Lowe was made a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia. He has served as a member of the Institute's Leadership & Career Development Committee and as a member and Convenor of the Public Policy Council Committee. He has contributed to the development of the Institute's public policy, particularly in health.
In 2007 Lowe moved to the non-profit sector and was appointed chief operating officer at the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Whilst at the National Breast Cancer Foundation he led the design and implementation of the integrated website and customer relationship management systems for the Pink Ribbon Breakfast campaign and Register4, Australia's first online community for volunteer breast cancer research participants.
From 2011 to 2018 Lowe was chief executive officer at Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia. In this role he pursued an agenda of ensuring its activities and programs are based on the latest available scientific and medical evidence. During his tenure PCFA established its Prostate Cancer Specialist Nursing Service which he worked to grow to 45 nurses nationally over a five-year period.
Lowe has made contributions to prostate cancer survivorship research in partnership with Professor Suzanne Chambers, particularly the development of ProsCare, a psychological care model for men with prostate cancer, and research into the financial implications of treatment for prostate cancer. In 2012 he was appointed Adjunct Associate Professor at Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University. From 2012 to 2018 he was co-lead with Chambers of the National Health and Medical Research Council Centre of Research Excellence in Prostate Cancer Survivorship. Lowe has also supported the development of resources and peer support groups to meet the particular needs of gay and bisexual men and men from culturally and linguistically diverse and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities with prostate cancer.
Lowe was project convenor, co-convenor with Professor Ian Olver, and a member of the Expert Advisory Panel for the development of national clinical practice guidelines on PSA testing and early management of test-detected prostate cancer. The guidelines were auspiced by Cancer Council Australia and PCFA with the aim of building consensus around PSA testing and bringing order to Australia's de facto unorganised prostate cancer screening program. The guideline recommendations were approved by the chief executive officer of NHMRC and published in January 2016.
Lowe is a member of ANZUP Cancer Trials Group. From 2015 to 2018 he worked to secure funding for ANZUP's Australian-first clinical trial of 177Lu-PSMA treatment for prostate cancer. The trial reached recruitment in September 2019.
In 2016 Lowe was appointed non-executive director and company secretary at Ensemble Offspring, an Australian new music group.
Lowe is the nephew of biologist and ichthyologist Rosemary Lowe-McConnell.

Selected publications