Rate My Professor Robin Turner

Professor Robin Turner is the Head of the Department of Public Health (Dunedin) at the University of Otago, part of the Faculty of Medicine in the Division of Health Sciences. She holds the qualifications BSc(Hons), MBiostat, and PhD, and her research summary is explicitly biostatistics. As a prominent biostatistician, Turner applies statistical expertise to health sciences research, including study design, data analysis, and methodological development to produce valid results on disease causes, population health patterns, and healthcare improvements. She has lived and worked in Australia for 12 years before returning to New Zealand to lead the Biostatistics Centre at the University of Otago, where she served as inaugural Director, fostering growth in biostatistical capacity for Dunedin campus researchers.

Currently overseeing the Department of Public Health, previously known as Preventive and Social Medicine, Turner contributes to a wide array of projects shaping New Zealand healthcare outcomes. Her teaching includes HASC415 Regression Methods: Health Science Applications and the Introductory Biostatistics for Clinical Researchers course, praised by participants for clarifying statistical concepts, enhancing confidence in power calculations and literature interpretation, and effective problem-solving activities. Key publications encompass meta-analyses such as 'Ductal carcinoma in situ at core-needle biopsy: meta-analysis of underestimation and predictors of invasive breast cancer' (Radiology, 2011), 'Non-beneficial treatments in hospital at the end of life: a systematic review' (International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 2016), 'Preoperative ultrasound-guided needle biopsy of axillary nodes in invasive breast cancer' (Annals of Surgery, 2011), 'Chronic kidney disease and the risk of stroke' (Nephrology Dialysis Transplantation, 2015), and 'Estimating the annual attack rate of seasonal influenza' (Vaccine, 2018). She has held roles on the University's Quality Advancement Committee and presented at the New Zealand Biostatistics Conference 2023 as Director of the Biostatistics Centre.