Professor Richie Poulton
Professor
Christchurch born, Professor Richie Poulton, serves on many government, public and academic statutory bodies and is a consultant internationally.
After completing his Postgraduate Diploma in Clinical Psychology and Masters Degree in Science from the University of Otago, Richie worked as a clinical psychologist before embarking on a PhD. In 1995, he was awarded a PhD in Psychiatry and took up the position of Deputy Director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit, later becoming Director.
In 2006, Richie was made Research Professor and awarded a Personal Chair by the University of Otago in the Dunedin School of Medicine, then becoming a Professor in the Department of Psychology.
Having received a plethora of medals and awards for his work, which centres around mental health and psychosocial determinants of chronic physical disease, Richie established and became a Co-Director of the National Centre for Lifecourse Research, a research centre based at the University of Otago, with partners located at universities around the world. In 2014, he was appointed as part-time Chief Science Advisor to the Ministry of Social Development, was named as a Highly Cited Researcher by Thomson-Reuters, and was also listed in 2014 World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.