Professor Trudy Rebbeck FACP’s career has spanned continents, combined academic and clinical excellence, influenced international standards and advanced care for complex musculoskeletal conditions. 

When physiotherapists talk about practice, the focus is often on treatment plans, functional goals and outcomes. 

Yet beneath every clinical encounter lies something less visible but equally powerful: the nervous system of both patient and practitioner, says Dr Polly McGee. 

What motivated you to investigate non-drug, non-exercise interventions for breathlessness in people with chronic lung disease? 

Breathlessness is a distressing and debilitating symptom for people with chronic lung disease. 

Why does adolescent idiopathic scoliosis matter—not just clinically but also in terms of long-term health and wellbeing for young people? 

What motivated you to test supervised exercise and pelvic floor muscle training as part of pain management for people with endometriosis? 

Low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common causes of disability and is associated with a number of comorbid conditions such as excess weight, physical inactivity, poor diet and smoking. 

Recent years have seen an increase in the amount of research investigating how to prevent and treat LBP, particularly through combating comorbid conditions.

What are some of the challenges that physiotherapists face working with elite para-athletes? 

As physiotherapists we are often encouraged to use pattern recognition and evidence-based practice as the basis of our assessments, diagnosis and clinical reasoning. 

With para-athletes, no two impairments are the same and the impact of the impairment differs for individual athletes. 

When frail older people present to hospital emergency departments, the decision about whether to admit them has enormous consequences. 

For some, a hospital stay is essential, but for many others, remaining in their homes with the right support leads to better outcomes, greater independence and a better quality of life.

Dr Jillian Eyles APAM is a physiotherapist and NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow in the Osteoarthritis Clinical Research Group, Sydney Musculoskeletal Health, Kolling Institute, University of Sydney. 

Her main focus is on supporting health professionals to deliver osteoarthritis care that is recommended in clinical practice guidelines and educating consumers to ask for the care that is most appropriate for them.