Professor Markus Melloh is the new Head, School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health, QUT.
Prior to joining QUT, Markus was a Professor of Public Health and Dean of the Faculty of Health at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.
We recently sat down with Markus to get to know him.
What initially drew you to public health?
Actually, it’s all just a coincidence. I had never intended to do anything other than become a decent Orthopod; but after I applied for a postdoc position with Professor Max Aebi at the University of Bern – and to my great surprise got the job – a whole new world opened up to me. A world in which groupthink and primacy played no role. I stumbled into a new profession, first taking a course in epidemiology and then another in biostats, and found myself on a journey into the wonderland of public health. I studied alongside nurses, psychologists, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals … and I loved it. When I completed my Masters in Public Health just a year later, I felt empowered to do a second PhD at the University of Otago, blending orthopaedics with public health and focusing on back pain in primary care. I had found a new love!
What are your current research interests?
My current research focuses on the study of workplace-based health promotion interventions, prevention, musculoskeletal health, medical diagnostics, and outcome assessment, particularly for populations with spinal conditions.
What have been some of your career highlights to date?
I am co-chair of the International Task Force on Diagnosis and Management of Lumbar Spinal Stenosis, a multinational, multidisciplinary non-profit organization whose goal is to implement current research findings in the diagnosis and treatment of lumbar spinal stenosis. My research has influenced best practice and policy across the sectors of health, engineering, physics, and beyond, for example as co-inventor of the Nerve Root Sedimentation Sign, a magnetic resonance sign that has shown to be present in central lumbar spinal stenosis.
How do you describe your work to non-academics?
My work aims to create healthy educational systems and make the world a better place to live, learn, and work for all members of our academic and non-academic communities.
What is something you would like your colleagues/peers to know about you?
I love the unpredictable, I love life as it comes to us, with all its uniqueness and surprises. As I travelled through the Queensland hinterland over the Easter break, I found myself in towns like Theodore, Taroom, and Wandoan … meeting ordinary people under motel gazebos and next to bowling greens.
What do you hope to bring to your role at QUT?
Just as Mahatma Gandhi said "Be the change you want to see in the world", I want to bring humility to my role at QUT. I want to put others first and constantly ask myself, 'What can I do in my role to support you? '