Matthew McGrail

Associate Professor Matthew McGrail is the Head of Regional Training Hubs research at UQ’s Rural Clinical School. Joining UQ in Nov 2017, he is based at the Rockhampton Clinical Unit, and he is chair of the research and evaluation working group of UQ’s Regional Medical Pathway as well as chair of UQ RCS’s medical graduate cohort longitudinal tracking study (UQ MediCoS).

Matthew has worked in the university sector for over 20 years, working mostly as a researcher in rural health. He was originally trained as a statistician, expanding his skills across GIS and software development, completing his PhD in 2008. He has been lead biostatistician on 3 large NHMRC-funded RCTs that are published in the world-leading general medical journal, the Lancet. Matthew’s research is mostly underpinned by the overall objective of improved access to health care for rural populations, mainly focused in the medical sector. He has a unique blend of ‘generalist’ research skills and experience across the disciplines of statistics, geography, rural health, econometrics, public health and clinical research.

Matthew has a particular interest in the ongoing concerns with medical workforce distribution, connecting that through his research and evaluation to health policies, training pathways and healthcare systems. To date he has been a chief investigator on two separate Centres of Research Excellence, one on medical workforce dynamics and the other on rural and remote primary health care access. He has also co-researched with various GP training organisations, specialty colleges, rural workforce agencies, as well as state and commonwealth health departments