International Visitors welcomed to the Physio Department
The Department of Physiotherapy has been delighted to host several visiting academics in recent times. Below are some snapshots showing the breadth of our collaborations.
Teaching team
The department’s Teaching Team hosted Sandra Breitenfeldt from Leipzig, Germany. Sandra visited our team to observe how research evidence is implemented into physiotherapy practice, gain insight into clinical reasoning processes used in physiotherapy education,and understand how these aspects are integrated into Doctor of Physiotherapy (DPT) teaching, practical classes and assessment preparation.
REPAIR research group
The REPAIR Research Group hosted a number of visitors from January to March. The team co-hosted Professor Janice Eng from The University of British Columbia, Canada along with The Royal Melbourne Hospital Physiotherapy Department for a stroke recovery and rehabilitation seminar on the Walk 'n Watch trial published in The Lancet Neurology. Professor Avril Drummond from Loughborough University, England visited the REPAIR research group in February to discuss all things stroke recovery and rehabilitation. A/Prof Shamala Thilarajah and Dr Li Khim Kwah from Singapore visited to discuss early phase clinical trials in stroke rehabilitation. Dr Natsuki Shimizu and A/Prof Masashi Kanai from Japan visited the REPAIR research group to discuss their work on physical activity after stroke including a very large cohort study and the Active Care Support program.
CanRex team
Dr Sang Hun Kim is visiting the CanRex team throughout 2026. He is a Rehabilitation Physician (MD) with a PhD and Assistant Professor at Pusan National University, Yangsan, South Korea. Dr Sang Hun Kim’s work focuses on pulmonary rehabilitation and telerehabilitation in particular for patients with lung cancer. He is recognised as one of the most senior physicians in this area of practise in Korea. He is being supported by a scholarship from the Korean Government to spend 12 months with our team at the University and at Peter Mac. He is interested in pre and rehabilitation in surgery. His appointment will be of particular benefit to our department to build new collaborations with South Korea into the future.
Paeds Co-LAB team
The Paeds Co-LAB hosted Prof Cibelle Formiga from the University of Goias, Brazil throughout 2025. Cibelle worked on the General Movements projects, including a General Movements Optimality Scoring for a Brazilian cohort and assisted with a scoping review. The Paeds Co-LAB group also hosted Mia Kirchner a Masters of Medicine student from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands to work with the team on a research project: Academic underachievement in children born very preterm: The added prognostic value of neurodevelopmental assessments at 5 years.
