Dr Sam Merriel
Dr Sam Merriel
Overview
I am a GP and NIHR Advanced Fellow in the Centre for Primary Care and Health Services Research. My main research interests are the early detection and prevention of cancer, understanding and addressing cancer inequalities, and the evaluation and implementation of new diagnostic tests in primary care.
Biography
I grew up and studied Medicine in Melbourne, Australia, on the land of the Wurundjeri people to whom I am endebted to. After obtaining my medical degree in Australia I moved to the UK where I completed an NIHR Academic Clinical Fellowship in General Practice, working within the Centre for Academic Primary Care at the University of Bristol. I obtained Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) in August 2018. My most recent post was a Clinical Senior Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, where undertook my PhD under the supervision of Prof Willie Hamilton ('Magnetic Resonance Imaging [MRI] for prostate cancer diagnosis in primary care').
I am Associate Editor and Editorial Board member for the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP), and Deputy lead of the Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Theme in the NIHR Manchester Biomedical Research Centre. I was previously Senior Board Member for BMC Cancer and vice-chair of the Primary Care Academic Collaborative (PACT).
Research interests
I lead programmes of primary care research that focus on the early detection and prevention of cancer, understanding and addressing cancer inequalities, and the evaluation and implementation of new diagnostic tests.
My PhD studied the potential impact of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as a diagnostic test for prostate cancer within primary care. I explored the accepatability, cost effectiveness, and patient centred outcomes associated with MRI. I have conducted and published research employing systematic reviews and meta-analyses, observational studies using primary and secondary data, delphi studies, and qualitative interviews on a range of topics including prostate cancer diagnoses, hypoalbuminaemia and cancer risk in primary care, and HPV vaccination for cancer prevention.