Professor Matt Bellgard’s career began as a computer scientist with a First Class Honours and PhD from the University of Western Australia in machine learning and artificial intelligence applied to classical music. His research journey has led to deep disciplinary, interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary research undertakings with impactful outcomes to the broader community. He is currently the inaugural eResearch Director at Queensland University of Technology and has successfully conceptualised and implemented a university-wide research-led digital strategy to support and enable researchers and educators to maximise best of breed digital tools and environments, and strategies. He has personally attracted over AUD $46M in research funding, co-inventor of 7 full/20 provisional patents, designed and commissioned a world’s top 100 supercomputer, co-authored 165 articles and led a diverse range of innovative initiatives that have grown research capacity spanning human, animal and plant health, life sciences, plant breeding, biosecurity, imaging, humanities, radio astronomy, remote sensing, mining, renewable energy, large scale visualisation and supercomputing.
He leads the design and development of digital health solutions for government, industry and academia, addressing policy, privacy, consent issues across multiple jurisdictions. He co-led a project to reform processes of the Queensland Governance Public Health Act and led the development of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service, Brisbane Data Roadmap Strategy. He was also the inaugural Chair of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Rare Disease (RD) Network (2017 – 22) that oversaw the development of the APEC RD Action Plan, endorsed by all 21 APEC governments, that brings together governments, industry, academia, clinicians and patient advocacy groups to support the estimated 200M individuals living with a rare disease within the Asia Pacific region.
Prior to joining QUT, Prof Bellgard was at Murdoch University, and in the last 12 years of his tenure operated as the inaugural Director of a Western Australian State Government Centre of Excellence (CoE) that he conceived. He was also Professor and Foundation Chair of Bioinformatics. Under his leadership, the Centre for Comparative Genomics CoE attracted over AUD $51M, delivered to the needs of industry and government in the areas of health, drug development, agriculture, bio- and food- security, food nutrition, mining, radio astronomy, remote sensing and the environment.
Current role