Thorsten was born in Göteborg, Sweden to English and German parents, one of seven children, and moved to UK at the age of 7, learning English as a second language. He studied medicine at Edinburgh and completed his paediatric training at Yorkhill and Royal Maternity hospitals in Glasgow. He moved to

Wellington in 1980 as a Lecturer and paediatric senior registrar and was appointed a Senior Lecturer and Consultant paediatrician at the University of Otago Wellington and Wellington Hospital the following year. Thorsten covered both General Paediatrics and Level III Neonatal Intensive care from that time

until his retirement, developing a particular interest in allergies and neurology including epilepsy. He has always been a keen teacher of both undergraduates and postgraduates and was convenor of the DCH Otago diploma from 1998 until retirement. He established the annual paediatric update for GPs in

the Wellington region {which still continues] in 2002, and the regular teaching of visiting junior paediatricians from Xiamen, China from 2009- 2022. Thorsten maintains contact with paediatric colleagues in Xiamen and last lectured there in 2025. Thorsten’s research interests include asthma & allergies, infectious disease, neonatal seizures, and more recently became part of the WARG research group under Prof Julian Crane and Kristin Wickens including studies into the effect of maternal and infant probiotic supplementation on the development of allergic disease, maternal mental health outcomes, and gestational diabetes. Thorsten assists the NZ Medical Council with health practitioner performance evaluations and was active with ACC misadventure case evaluations for many years.

Thorsten is married to a GP and has 5 children, two of whom are doctors, (both practicing in New Zealand). Apart from medicine, Thorsten has a keen interest in Bridge, gardening, and wine (and was previously an NZ wine judge). He still cycles to work every day 😊.