Rate My Professor James Stanley

Professor James Stanley is a Research Professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago, Wellington, Faculty of Medicine. He holds a BA (Hons) and a PhD from the University of Otago, awarded in 2004, following training as an experimental psychologist. After completing post-doctoral research in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom from 2004 to 2006, he joined the University of Otago, Wellington as a Research Fellow in April 2007. He progressed through promotions, reaching Research Associate Professor in 2019 and Research Professor in 2024. In his current roles, he serves as Director of the Biostatistical Group and Co-director of the Integrated Data Research Group, coordinating statistical support and collaborations across the university and wider community. Stanley teaches biostatistical and research methods in formal courses, including co-convening the HASC417 Research Methods paper, and delivers practical workshops on statistical methods for staff and students.

James Stanley's research specializations center on biostatistics applied to public health challenges. He is a co-investigator on over 20 large externally funded projects, including work with the C3 Research Group on multimorbidity in New Zealand, multiple cancer-related outcomes studies, projects examining the impact of racism on health as Principal Investigator for Health Research Council grant HRC 17/066, and tobacco control initiatives through the ASPIRE Research Group. His contributions include developing SAS code for comorbidity and multimorbidity indices such as C3, PBCI, M3, and P3, used in epidemiological studies. Key publications include 'Psychological distress, anxiety, family violence, suicidality, and wellbeing in New Zealand during the COVID-19 lockdown: A cross-sectional study' (PLoS One, 2020), 'Disruption of state estimation in the human lateral cerebellum' (PLoS Biology, 2007), 'The positive impact of interprofessional education: a controlled trial to evaluate a programme for health professional students' (BMC Medical Education, 2015), 'Risk factors for cryptorchidism' (Nature Reviews Urology, 2017), 'Children’s everyday exposure to food marketing: an objective analysis using wearable cameras' (International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2017), and recent articles such as 'Participant experiences of the Knee Care for Arthritis through Pharmacy Service (KneeCAPS)' (Osteoarthritis & Cartilage Open, 2026) and 'Validity of the Global Rating of Change in patients with chronic low back pain' (Musculoskeletal Science & Practice, 2025). Stanley presented his Inaugural Professorial Lecture in June 2024.