Qualifications: RN, ND, BN, BN(Hons), DipClinNutr, PhD.

About:  Associate Professor Matthew Leach is Deputy Director: Education at the National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine (NCNM), Southern Cross University. A/Prof Leach has built an international reputation in health services research, where he has established a program of research referred to as BEACON (Building Excellence and Advancing understanding of Consumer Outcomes and Needs). This research program is underpinned by three pillars:

• Health consumers (i.e. the health care needs, preferences and behaviours of individuals and communities),
• Health care provision (i.e. health workforce and services planning, and evidence-based practice), and
• Health care impact (i.e. the safety and effectiveness of health care interventions and services).

A/Prof Leach has made an original and significant contribution to each of these areas, and to the field of health services research more broadly. A/Prof Leach’s work is truly multidisciplinary. A/Prof Leach has collaborated with more than 27 distinct disciplines, spanning 48 agencies and academic institutions, across 10 countries. He has published over 162 refereed journal articles, 13 book chapters and a sole-authored textbook, and has attracted more than 4,431 citations for his work. A/Prof Leach is also a member of several journal editorial boards, steering committees and government committees, and has been awarded competitive research funding totaling more than $2.39 million.

Research/Areas of interest: Health services research; Evidence-based practice; Integrative health care; Implementation science; Translation science; Rural health; Nutritional medicine; Herbal medicine; Determinants of health

Website: https://researchportal.scu.edu.au/esploro/profile/matthew_leach

Email: matthew.leach@scu.edu.au

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drmattleach/