Rate My Professor Gabrielle Davie

Gabrielle Davie is a Research Professor in the Department of Public Health (Dunedin), Faculty of Medicine at the University of Otago. She holds an undergraduate Mathematics Honours degree from the University of Otago and a Master's in Biostatistics from the University of Melbourne. She joined the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine in 2005 and has served as the biostatistician for the Injury Prevention Research Unit. Previously an Associate Professor, she was promoted to Research Professor in December 2025.

As an applied biostatistician, Gabrielle Davie provides critical statistical expertise across all stages of health research projects, particularly those using routinely collected data. Her work examines health disparities and inequities in New Zealand populations and includes methodological research on data quality. She has co-authored more than 100 publications on injury topics and has led key studies, such as those on diabetes-related fracture risk and the financial impact of injuries among older workers. She contributed significantly to the rural health research team that developed the Geographical Classification for Health, a classification now widely used by academics and government agencies. Much of her research is funded by the Health Research Council, with current projects evaluating rurality's effects on health outcomes and healthcare delivery, a national falls prevention pathway, and the economic burden of cancer on individuals.

Gabrielle Davie is Director of Research for the Department of Public Health and an Editor for the International Journal of Population Data Science. Her influential publications include 'Effect of insulating existing houses on health inequality: cluster randomised study in the community' (BMJ, 2007), 'Minimum purchasing age for alcohol and traffic crash injuries among 15-to 19-year-olds in New Zealand' (American Journal of Public Health, 2006), 'Trends and determinants of excess winter mortality in New Zealand: 1980 to 2000' (BMC Public Health, 2007), 'Defining rural in Aotearoa New Zealand: a novel geographic classification for health purposes' (2021), and 'Prospective outcomes of injury study' (Injury Prevention, 2009). Her research has advanced understanding in injury prevention, rural health, and population data science.