CQUniversity appoints director of new health research centre

29 January 2025
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Professor Tim Carey

By Isis Symes

CQUniversity has appointed a director of its new research centre that aims to support regional and remote communities to achieve their health and wellbeing priorities.

With a wealth of experience in the health equity space, Professor Timothy Carey joins CQU from Curtin University.

“I’m excited beyond words to have been appointed as Director of the Centre for Health Equity in Regional and Remote Communities (CHERRC),” Prof Carey said. 

“CQU is really at the forefront of leading engagement with regional and remote communities and finding ways to be a resource to communities so that they can solve problems through research that is impactful. 

"It’s time to change the narrative about living and working in regional, rural, remote, and very remote locations,” he said. 

Prof Carey said CHERRC, set for official launch later in the year, would be a flagship for public health research, and will aim to advance community-led standards of health and wellbeing in regional, rural and remote places. 

“CHERRC will have a strong focus on addressing critical public health challenges through innovative research, community partnerships and interdisciplinary collaboration.

“In particular, it will examine various factors influencing individual and community abilities to obtain and benefit from health services,” Prof Carey explained.

“This includes exploring physical, economic, social and cultural determinants of access across different healthcare settings, regions and populations.”

Prof Carey has previously worked in Rwanda at the University of Global Health Equity. 

“Prior to that I had 10 years in Alice Springs at the Centre for Remote Health,” he said.

Prof Carey has also spent time in Central Queensland, teaching in Moranbah and Rockhampton.

“Central Queensland is where I started my teaching career before I went back to Brisbane to study psychology and got a PhD in Clinical Psychology. I then worked in Scotland at the NHS for five years in rural and underserved communities, but I wanted to come back to Queensland,” he said.

“Being able to work at a university and be based at a regional city was very attractive.”

Prof Carey is joined by his wife and teenage son, and will settle in Rockhampton where the new Centre will be based to ensure strong connections with the communities it serves. 

“Emphasising community engagement and partnerships with local health services, government agencies and community organisations, CHERRC will ensure that research remains relevant and impactful,” Prof Carey said. 

“It will also serve as a hub for researchers interested in public health, strengthening interdisciplinary projects and supporting early career researchers and postgraduate students.” 

CHERRC aims to position CQUniversity as a leader in regional public health research, contributing to improved health outcomes and reduced disparities in underserved communities.

“It’s time to take note that despite all of the health research conducted in regional and remote communities over decades, there has not been corresponding improvements in the health status of people living in those areas,” Prof Carey said. 

“The establishment of such a centre is an important step for us as a regional university and will allow us to engage and collaborate with the regional, rural and remote health communities and industry like never before.”