La Trobe University has named professor James Boyd, an expert in data linkage and governance in health, as its inaugural chair of Digital Health to guide course development and research in the field.
The university said it created the position to provide academic leadership in the teaching of digital health while also leading “innovative and high-impact research on this important topic.”
Boyd, who joins the La Trobe from Curtin University, will start in the new role on April 29th.
During his time at Curtin, Boyd has established and led the Centre for Data Linkage as part of the Population Health Research Network, which provides advice on the effective use of statistics to monitor government health policy.
Boyd has also worked with the National Health Service in Scotland, where he developed a record linkage system that provides monthly updates to NHS Scotland’s linked morbidity and mortality file.
“The Digital Health space provides an amazing opportunity to develop and apply digital technology to advance innovative research that will improve health outcomes,” Boyd said ahead of his move to La Trobe.
“The aim is to provide state of the art tools to collect, manage, manipulate and analyse large and complex datasets efficiently.
“Extending and exploiting information to cover larger portions of the health system allows us to understand the whole system and supports better decision making by policy makers, program managers, service managers, clinicians, and patients.”
