Dr. Kelly is a Psychiatrist and has been Head of School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle, Australia, from 2016-2021, and has recently been appointed to the senior role of Pro-Vice Chancellor (Research), within the University. He is working with Dr. Bultz and colleagues in establishing a collaborative psychooncology research network with the Tom Baker Cancer Centre and University of Calgary. Key research areas include innovation in health service provision in psychooncology (including needs in rural areas); psychooncology research among Indigenous/First Nations peoples; and psychooncology research in end-of-life care in cancer.
This collaboration resulted in the first international workshop on psychooncology research among First Nations people held in the 2019 World Congress in Psychooncology and provided a catalyst for specific research addressing the burden of multi-morbidity in First Nations peoples, appropriate methods for screening for distress in clinical care, and developing an international community of practice in this field.
Dr. Kelly is collaborating in the research program examining the psychosocial issues in Medical Assistance in Dying, and is collaborating in a program of research exploring the psychosocial needs of men with testicular cancer, supported by a research grant to the University of Calgary. This has engaged expertise in qualitative research methods from the University of Newcastle, with a team based in Calgary, with the aim to undertake international comparisons in this initial stage of a larger international research program. Dr. Kelly is also Co-Editor in Chief of the Journal of Psychosocial Oncology Research and Practice (alongside Dr. Linda Carlson) and Chairs the Australian Psychooncology Cooperative Research Group, a national clinical trials group supported by Cancer Australia.