Our people

Our team consists of a number of experienced clinicians and researchers who are interested in helping individuals, communities and populations live well through activity and rehabilitation.

Richard Ellis
Richard Ellis
Professor

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with a passion for rehabilitation and patient-centred care. My research interests include assessment and management of peripheral nervous system disorders, ultrasound imaging, manual therapy and rehabilitation for long-term disorders such as osteoarthritis and chronic spinal pain.

Academic profile

Duncan Reid
Duncan Reid
Professor

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and researcher.  My research interests are in sports injury incidence and injury prevention. I also have a passion for improving outcomes in physiotherapy clinical practice.

Academic profile

Matthew Carroll
Matthew Carroll
Professor

Kia ora. I am a podiatrist, musculoskeletal researcher and dad of two. My research focuses on supporting advances in the clinical management of lower limb musculoskeletal conditions.

Academic profile

Julia Hill
Julia Hill
Member

I am a physiotherapist and bring a clinical perspective to my research. Low back pain in adults and children, and stratified care models are my areas of research. I am interested in how we can implement our research findings into clinical practice.

Academic profile

Prue Molyneux
Prue Molyneux
Member

I am a podiatrist, educator and researcher. My current research focuses on the clinical utility of ultrasound imaging for osteoarthritis in the foot. My intention is to advance clinical capacity for podiatrists in New Zealand while improving patient outcomes.

Academic profile

Sarah Mooney
Sarah Mooney
Member

I’m a part-time academic and part-time cardio-respiratory physiotherapist (advanced clinician).  My qualitative research interests extend from clinical and patient education, chronic respiratory and cardiac physiotherapy management, as well as disordered breathing and obesity.

Daniel O’Brien
Daniel O’Brien
Associate Professor

My primary research focus and my area of clinical specialty is in the management of chronic conditions that affect the musculoskeletal system; chiefly lower limb joint pain and osteoarthritis. Additionally, I have a research interest in the development and implementation of interprofessional clinical services.

Academic profile

Steve White
Steve White
Member

Kia ora. I am a physiotherapist with a 30-year background in managing people with musculoskeletal pain. My research has focused on clinical reasoning and diagnostics. My passion is to improve rehabilitation outcomes for patients by enhancing these skills in health care providers.

Academic profile

Mike Frecklington
Mike Frecklington
Member

Kia ora. My research interests are in inflammatory arthritis and footwear. I also lead a podiatric rheumatology clinic for people with inflammatory arthritis.

Academic profile

Nico Magni
Nico Magni
Member

Kia ora, I am a lecturer, registered physiotherapist and hand therapist. My main research interests include prediction modelling and precision rehabilitation for hand and upper limb conditions. I also have a keen interest in statistics and programming.

Academic profile

Sarah Stewart
Sarah Stewart
Member

Kia ora, I am a registered podiatrist and Senior Lecturer within the Department of Podiatry at Auckland University of Technology. My primary areas of research include gout, ultrasound imaging, lower limb biomechanics and gait analysis, and patient-reported foot- and lower limb-related pain and disability.

Academic profile

Jess Cahan
Jess Cahan
Member

Kia ora, I am a physiotherapist, researcher and educator. My current research interest is falls and osteoarthritis and the management of these conditions in Aotearoa.

Academic profile

Jill Caldwell
Jill Caldwell
Member
Katherine Forch
Katherine Forch
Member

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal and sports neuro physiotherapist, lecturer and researcher. I am the Rehabilitation Team Lead at Axis Sports Medicine Specialists and my clinical work and research focusses on the assessment and management of sports-related concussion, in particular, return-to-play testing.

Academic profile

Bronwyn Harman
Bronwyn Harman
Member

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with over 20 years of clinical experience. My research interests include rehabilitation following orthopaedic surgery and long-term conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Academic profile

Sarah Gardiner
Sarah Gardiner
Member

Kia ora, I am a podiatrist, educator and researcher. I have an interest in management of post-traumatic injuries to the ankle and foot, particularly around the use of custom braces and AFO’s.

Belinda Ihaka
Belinda Ihaka
Member

Tēnā koutou katoa. Nō Te Aupōuri ahau. My background is in podiatry, with an interest in improving health outcomes for Māori.

Academic profile

Aaron Jackson
Aaron Jackson
Member

Kia ora. I am a podiatrist, educator and researcher with an interest in the assessment and management of musculoskeletal conditions. My current work aims to investigate commonly used orthotic interventions and how these affect gait.

Academic profile

Susan Kohut
Susan Kohut
Member

Hello. I am a physiotherapist with a keen interest in acupuncture. My research focuses on acupuncture, including Western medical, traditional Chinese and dry needling. I have also participated in research involving older adults, largely related to fall prevention and enabling greater participation in
everyday life through enhancement of activity.

Academic profile

Amy McGrath
Amy McGrath
Member

Kia Ora, I am a physiotherapist and lecturer. I have a clinical background in lumbar spine injuries and persistent pain. My research area of interest is digital health and the integration of technology into practice.

Samantha Norman
Samantha Norman
Member

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, researcher and educator. My current research interest is in the prevention and management of post-traumatic osteoarthritis, especially for women, with the hope of improving outcomes for women after knee injury.

Academic profile

Kelly van der Zwan
Kelly van der Zwan
Member

Kia ora, I am a musculoskeletal physiotherapist and educator My research interest is currently in the contemporary physiotherapy management of cervical spine pathology, in particular, the feasibility of models of care for cervical spine radiculopathy in Aotearoa.

Academic profile

Our students

  • Karen Adams  (PhD)
    Physiotherapy interventions with school-age children with non-ambulatory Cerebral Palsy combined with intellectual disability in Aotearoa
    Supervisors: Dr. Julie Blamires and Dr. Julia Hill.
  • Rohil Chauhan (PhD ).
    Assessment of Diagnostic Practices for Degenerative Cervical Myelopathy in New Zealand – A Survey of Secondary Care and a Diagnostic Accuracy Study of MRI variables
    Supervisors: Dr Steve White, Dr Anand Segar.
  • Katherine Forch (PhD).
    The SAFE For Play study for objective assessment of recovery after concussion (mTBI) in Sports
    Supervisors : Dr Sharon Olsen, Assoc Prof Mangor Peterson, Prof Duncan Reid.
  • Daniel Harvey (PhD)
    The influence of process variables on patient outcomes in musculoskeletal health care systems
    Supervisors: Dr. Steve White, Prof. Duncan Reid, Prof Chad Cook
  • Bryce Hastings (PhD)
    An investigation into the effect of supervised neuro-motor exercise on pain, function, walking economy and daily activity levels in individuals with hip osteoarthritis
    Supervisors: A/Prof Daniel O’Brien, Dr Steve White and Professor Duncan Reid (Advisors: Gillian Hatfield and Jinger GottShall)
  • Aaron Jackson (PhD)
    The effect of lateral forefoot wedging on walking and running gait in healthy adults
    Supervisors: Professor Matt Carroll, Professor Duncan Reid
  • Kim McCullough (PhD)
    Movement Screening and injury incidence in NCAA soccer teams
    Supervisors: Professor Phil Sizer (Texas Tech), Professor Duncan Reid
  • Eilish Simpson (DHSc)
    Topic Psychologically informed physiotherapy following surgery for Low Back Pain
    Supervisors: Prof Duncan Reid, Assoc Prof Kirsten van Kessell, Dr Jo Egan and Dr Nial Eames.
  • Josie Timmins (PhD)
    Understanding Pasifika healthcare workers’ roles and support systems through their experiences and perspectives
    Supervisors: A/Prof Daniel O’Brien (Co-primary supervisor), Dr. Juliet Boon-Nainai (Co-primary supervisor), Prof. Nicola Kayes
  • Matthew Willis (DHSc)
    Exploring health improvements whist awaiting orthopaedic consultation
    Supervisors: Dr. Julia Hill, A/Prof Daniel O’Brien and Prof. Duncan Reid
  • Monique Baigent (MPhil)
    Can clinical tests accurately diagnose chronic acromioclavicular joint (CACJ) pain?
    Supervisors: Dr Steve White, Dr Julia Hill, Associate Professor Alain Vandall
  • Jess Cahan (MHSc)
    Exploring how physiotherapists consider falls risk during the clinical management of people with osteoarthritis.
    Supervisors: A/Prof Daniel O’Brien, Associate Professor Nada Signal
  • Mia Clarke (BHScHons)
    Burnout among the podiatry profession: a survey of Podiatrists in Aotearoa New Zealand
    Supervisors: Dr Sarah Stewart, Dr Mike Frecklington
  • Colin Hancock (MHSc)
    Return to play following a sports-related concussion – what do general practitioners and physiotherapists know and want in practice? A qualitative study in New Zealand
    Supervisors: Jason Chua, Prof. Duncan Reid, Prof. Alice Theadom.
  • Kim Iverson (MHPrac)
    Strength and resistance training for the prevention of running related injuries: a scoping review
    Supervisors: Prof. Duncan Reid and Dr. Kelly Sheerin.
  • Preeti Kaur (MHPrac)
    The assessment and management of sesamoiditis in Aotearoa New Zealand
    Supervisors: Dr Sarah Stewart, Prof Matt Carroll
  • Samantha Norman (MHSc)
    How can New Zealand women live well following a significant knee injury?
    Supervisors: Prof. Richard Ellis, A/Prof Daniel O’Brien, Dr. Clare Ardern
  • Louise Pearce (MHSc)
    Improving preterm infants developmental motor outcomes through very early intensive intervention; A feasibility study.
    Supervisors: Dr. Nusratnaaz Shaikh, Dr. Jimmy Chong, Dr. Sian Williams, A/Prof. Richard Ellis.
  • Koki Sakamoto (MHPrac)
    Exploring the effective loading exercises and parameters for chronic mid-portion Achilles tendinopathy: A systematic review of systematic reviews
    Supervisor: Prof. Duncan Reid.
  • Luanfu Wu (MPubHealth)
    Surgical versus conservative care following anterior cruciate ligament injury in adolescent populations: a scoping review.
    Supervisors: Duncan Reid and Ayah Elsayed.

Current research projects

Find out what our research team is currently working on.

Our research

Research collaborators

Our team is working with research associates and other collaborators both inside and outside of AUT.