Sam Manger

Dr Sam Manger is a clinical and academic General Practitioner working across multiple sectors with expertise in lifestyle and social assessment and interventions, behaviour change, model of care implementation, digital health and medical education.  He works clinically as a rural GP in South-East Queensland, and is the Academic Lead and Senior Lecturer of the postgraduate degrees (Master, Graduate Diploma, Graduate Certificate) in Lifestyle Medicine at James Cook University College of Medicine and Dentistry.  He is an Advisor to the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) Handbook of Non-Drug Interventions (HANDI) and Shaping a Healthy Australia Project, Ambassador for the Federal Government Initiative Equally Well Australia, Immediate Past-President of the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (ASLM), host of The GP Show podcast which has produced over 220 episodes with global leaders in medicine and science, Advisor to multiple leading leading NGOs and private industry groups including Movember Global, The Men's Table, TOGA Health, Wilson Foundation, Co-Founder of SurgReady, in addition to other research, business and healthcare consultant roles for philanthropy, government and industry. 

Dr Manger studied medicine at the University of Queensland, and has won multiple awards including the highest score in the RACGP Fellowship examinations, RACGP QLD General Practitioner of the Year (2021), Outstanding Partnership and Collaboration award in the mental health field from Equally Well Australia (2024), Outstanding Contribution of Health from the Heart Foundation/Health Coaches Australia & New Zealand (2025), and nominated for Lifestyle Medicine Pioneer Award from the Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine (2026, outcome pending). 

He has been a successful Chief Investigator (CI) and Associate Investigator (AI) on multiple NHMRC and MRFF grants, as well as multiple philanthropic grants, in the fields of mental health, whole person care and primary care.  He currently supervises 2 PhD students and 10-15 Master students.  He has spoken and keynoted at over 30 national and international peak body conferences in the past 5 years including the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, American Psychiatric Association, Australian Practice Nurse Association, Australian Physiotherapy Association, Queensland Mental Health Commission, Private Healthcare Australia, and the annual Judicial Plenary of the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia. 

His professional intent is to contribute to the innovation of healthcare service delivery and research that addresses the lifestyle and social determinants of illness that fosters healing and builds wellbeing.  This approach aligns strongly with the quintuple aim of healthcare: better health outcomes, lower cost, improved patient satisfaction, improved provider well-being and advancement of health equity.  He has experience and networks in clinical practice, academic research, implementation science, diverse stakeholder engagement including industry, philanthropy, government, community and those with lived experience. He is a frequently sought after communicator and educator for the public and health profession with a focus on chronic disease prevention and treatment, mental health, whole of person wellbeing, lifestyle interventions and the social determinants. Due to the varied constellation of his roles he has obtained unique insights and experience incorporating the three foundational principles of evidence-based health care; evidence-based research, clinical experience and identifying patient/consumer values and preferences.   This provides a unique basis for the translation and dissemination to real world outcomes that are applicable to users of various socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.  

• Lifestyle and social assessment and interventions (lifestyle medicine, social prescribing)
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Chronic disease 
• Perioperative medicine
• Behaviour change
• Implementation science and models of care
• Medical education
• Digital Health
• Health promotion  

• Lifestyle and social assessment and interventions (lifestyle medicine, social prescribing)
• Mental health and wellbeing
• Chronic disease 
• Perioperative medicine
• Behaviour change
• Implementation science and models of care
• Medical education
• Digital Health
• Health promotion