Rachel Neale is the deputy coordinator of the population health department and holds adjunct appointments at the Queensland University of Technology and University of Queensland. She also serves as Group Leader for Cancer Aetiology and Prevention, as well as Deputy Coordinator for Population Health Department. Neale established a program of research into pancreatic cancer, and later into vitamin D. In light of her knowledge of both skin cancer and vitamin D she is able to contribute to policy discussions about balancing the risks and benefits of sun exposure; she leads the health working group for the United Nations Environmental Effects Assessment Panel which reports to the parties to the Montreal Protocol.

Neale completed a Bachelor of Veterinary Science at the University of Queensland, a PhD in skin cancer prevention at the QIMR Berghofer. She then obtained an NHMRC Sidney Sax Fellowship at the University of Oxford.