Rate My Professor Robin Willink

Robin Willink, BSc (Hons) TTC PhD, is Senior Research Fellow and Biostatistician in the Biostatistical Services group within the Dean's Department at the University of Otago, Wellington, having joined as Consulting Biostatistician in December 2019. He studied physics and mathematics at Victoria University of Wellington before earning his PhD from the Medical Physics department at Leicester Royal Infirmary, United Kingdom, with a thesis on estimation of blood-flow using Doppler ultrasound with a narrow beam, emphasizing probabilistic and statistical aspects.

Prior to Otago, Willink spent 30 years at the Measurement Standards Laboratory of New Zealand (now part of Callaghan Innovation), including as Statistician in the Applied Mathematics team at Industrial Research Ltd from 1996 to 2010, specializing in measurement uncertainty analysis and applied statistics in medical fields, and in machine-learning with big data at Immigration New Zealand from 2013 to 2018. His research focuses on principles, theory, and methods of statistical inference related to experimental data, biostatistics, and measurement. He has authored over 50 articles in measurement and statistical journals, including the book Measurement Uncertainty and Probability (Cambridge University Press, 2013). Notable recent publications encompass "Shrinkage Estimation to Minimize Error in Measurement Comparisons" (Metrology, 2026), "On the role of probability in science, analytical measurement and metrology" (Accreditation and Quality Assurance, 2025), "Using MCQ response certainty to determine how aspects of self-monitoring develop through a medical course" (Medical Education, 2024), "Can storytelling of women's lived experience enhance understanding of pelvic pain? A pilot intervention study" (Medical Teacher, 2024), and "Which clinical research questions are the most important? Results of an international survey" (PLoS ONE, 2023). Willink provides biostatistical consulting to support health sciences staff and students.