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
Associate 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
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
Associate 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
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

Daniel O’Brien
Member

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

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.

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
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
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
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

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
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
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
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
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

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

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

Jill Caldwell
Member

Our students

  • Stephen Ellery (DHSc)
    Exploring the experiences and perspectives of physiotherapists and patients in New Zealand to describe factors that influence low back pain clinical outcomes
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Dr Steve White, Professor Nicola Kayes
  • Wayne Fausett (DHSc)
    Patient reported outcomes after primary ACL surgery in NZ and the relationship with physiotherapy treatment
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Associate Professor Peter Larmer
  • Emma Green (DHSc)
    Allied health workforce evolution: what does it take to evolve a workforce? Reflections from the Bay of Plenty DHB journey
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Dr Brenda Flood
  • 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: Dr 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: Associate 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
  • Gary McNicholl (DHSc)
    Does the capacity demand management programme (CCDM) improve patient care and staff workloads in an allied health practitioner setting?
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Dr Felicity Bright
  • Prue Molyneux (PhD)
    Development of an ultrasound imaging atlas to grade the severity of first metatarsophalangeal joint osteoarthritis
    Supervisors: Associate Professor Matt Carroll, Professor Cathy Bowen (University of Southampton), Associate Professor Richard Ellis
  • Leena Naik (DHSc)
    Extended Scope and Advanced Physiotherapy Practitioner roles in New Zealand: An exploratory case study
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Dr Steve White, Professor Stephen Neville
  • Emma O’Loughlin (PhD)
    The Effects of a Female-Specific Rehabilitation Programme for ACL Injuries
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Dr Stacy Sims
  • Geoff Potts (DHSc)
    Preoperative anterior cruciate ligament rehabilitation compared to current care
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Associate Professor Peter Larmer
  • Jennifer Stillwell (DHSc)
    Is a Physiotherapy Led Orthopaedic Triage Service a viable workforce model in the New Zealand Public Health system?
    Supervisors: Professor Duncan Reid, Associate Professor Peter Larmer
  • 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: Dr 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
  • Katie Dervan (BHScPhtyHons)
    The hidden costs of LBP in New Zealand:A scoping review of the intangible (or indirect) costs of LBP in New Zealand
    Supervisor: Dr Julia Hill
  • Blake Francis (BHScPhtyHons)
    Developing a Short OA Guidebook for Aotearoa New Zealand
    Supervisor: Dr Daniel O’Brien
  • Preeti Kaur (MHPrac)
    The assessment and management of sesamoiditis in Aotearoa New Zealand
    Supervisors: Dr Sarah Stewart, A/Prof Matt Carroll
  • Ellie Marshall (BHScPhtyHons)
    Transgender, non-binary, gender diverse and intersex experiences of physiotherapy in New Zealand
    Supervisor: Associate Professor Richard Ellis

Current research projects

Find out what our research team is currently working on.

Our research