Rate My Professor Stephanie Best

Stephanie Best serves as Honorary Associate Professor at the Australian Institute of Health Innovation, part of Macquarie University's Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences. She previously held the position of Senior Research Fellow at the institute, where she contributed to key projects such as the implementation of genomic medicine into clinical practice. Best earned her PhD in 2014 from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, through the Lean Enterprise Research Centre, focusing on innovating pedagogy and enterprise methods. She also holds an MSc from Swansea University and is a Member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (MCSP). Her career trajectory includes significant roles in health service delivery and research leadership, transitioning to Senior Research Lead in Implementation Science at Australian Genomics and Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, as well as Associate Professor at the University of Melbourne's School of Health Sciences. Throughout her appointments, she has demonstrated extensive leadership in translating research into practice across institutions.

Best's academic interests center on implementation science, employing theories, models, and frameworks to evaluate and facilitate the integration of complex interventions like clinical genomics into healthcare systems. She has published more than 50 peer-reviewed papers in the past five years, including 'The leadership behaviors needed to implement clinical genomics at scale' (2020), 'Structured approaches to implementation of clinical genomics: a scoping review' (2022), 'Using implementation science to navigate the complexity of integrating genomics into health care' (2025), 'Organizational perspectives on implementing complex health interventions: clinical genomics in Australia' (2021), and 'Using a theory informed approach to design, execute, and evaluate a complex intervention in primary care' (2023). Her scholarship has garnered nearly 3,000 citations, underscoring her influence in the field. Best has attracted over AU$60 million in competitive funding, such as NHMRC Synergy Grants and MRFF Grants, often providing implementation expertise. Recognized as a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (UK), she co-chairs the Melbourne Academic Centre for Health Implementation Science committee, acts as associate editor for BMC Health Services Research, and has delivered over 20 invited presentations. Her collaborative efforts extend to co-designing research with consumers, clinicians, and health economists, enhancing capacity building in real-world settings.