Assoc Professor Rhys Jones

Dr Rhys Jones (Ngāti Kahungunu) is a Public Health Physician and Associate Professor in Te Kupenga Hauora Māori (TKHM). As Co-Director of Teaching in TKHM, he contributes to oversight of Māori Health teaching, learning and assessment in the Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences. He has a strong track record of leadership in teaching and learning, which was nationally recognised when he received the Prime Minister’s Supreme Award for Tertiary Teaching Excellence in 2020.

Rhys’s research broadly addresses Indigenous health and health equity. In 2005-06, he was a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy based at Harvard Medical School in Boston, USA, examining interventions to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in health care using organisational case studies. He has a particular interest in environmental influences on Māori health and wellbeing, with a focus on climate justice and Indigenous rights. His research also examines the role of health professional education in advancing Indigenous health and equity, and he was Principal Investigator of the international research project, Educating for Equity.