ProfessorNancy Baxter

Professor Baxter has led a sustained and influential program of research focused on cancer prevention and screening, surgical quality and safety, and the use of population-level data to improve health system performance. Across her career in Canada, the United States, and Australia, she has designed and led large observational studies, pragmatic evaluations, and policy-relevant research programs that bridge clinical practice, health services research, and public health. Her work has addressed colorectal cancer screening effectiveness, post-colonoscopy cancer, gender and equity in surgery, quality improvement in endoscopy and surgical care, and the unintended consequences of health system policies. Many of these projects were conducted in close partnership with government agencies, cancer agencies, and health services, ensuring direct translation into guidelines, funding models, and quality assurance programs.

Professor Baxter has extensive experience leading multidisciplinary research teams that include clinicians, epidemiologists, statisticians, policy experts, and implementation scientists. She has held continuous competitive research funding as a chief investigator and has overseen complex projects involving linked administrative data, clinical registries, and prospective cohort studies. Her research leadership is characterised by methodological rigour, attention to real-world relevance, and a strong commitment to addressing inequities in health and healthcare delivery.

Supervision and mentoring are central to Professor Baxter’s academic practice. She has supervised a large number of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, surgical trainees, and early career researchers across multiple institutions and disciplines. Her trainees have completed doctoral and master’s degrees in surgery, clinical epidemiology, public health, and health services research, and have gone on to successful academic, clinical, and policy careers. Professor Baxter is widely recognised for excellence in mentorship and has received multiple national and international awards for her sustained contributions to trainee development and research capacity building.