Prof Stokes, previously based at the University of Birmingham, took up the Elaine Gurr Chair of General Practice at Otago early this month.
At Birmingham, he was senior clinical lecturer in primary care at the general practice and rural health department.
And in Britain he established a national profile in health care quality improvement research and development through more than a decade of influential work with the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, Otago officials said.
Otago vice-chancellor Prof Harlene Hayne said Prof Stokes brought ''a wealth of skills and knowledge'' to the Otago post.
The Otago general practice and rural health department played an an important role in educating New Zealand's GP workforce and undertaking research that informed primary care, as well as policy development and implementation.
Prof Stokes was well placed to make ''significant contributions to the already vibrant research and teaching culture'' of the department, she said.
He has published more than 50 research and quality improvement papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has developed international training courses on evidence-based quality improvement.
As well as continuing his academic and public health career, Prof Stokes has also been a GP in the UK for more than 20 years and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and of the Royal College of General Practitioners.
Prof Stokes said he was looking forward to working with colleagues at the Dunedin school and the wider health community, and also ''getting established as a part-time GP in a local practice''.
His health care quality improvement focus included studying how research evidence could best be embedded into routine clinical practice.
• Prof Stokes' qualifications include a BA (Hons) from Oxford, a MPhil from Cambridge, a MBChB from Edinburgh, a master of public health from Nottingham University and and a PhD in health services research from Leicester University.