Sports Medicine Australia is thrilled to introduce Dr Natalie Collins, Dr Rachel Harris, Dr Matt Whalan and Associate Professor Adam Bryant as our invited speakers for the upcoming 2021 SMA Conference in Melbourne on October 6-9 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. This group of well respected researchers are the ideal complement to our already incredible line-up with Dr David Hughes delivering the Refshauge Lecture and our Keynote speakers including Professor Carolyn Emery, Professor Kristian Thorborg, Professor Shona Halson, Professor Emmanuel Stamatakis, Dr David Martin, Assistant Professor Jean-Francois Esculier and Professor Anna Timperio. We are delighted to bring a host of world renowned sports medicine professionals as speakers for the 2021 SMA conference that is back bigger and better.
Dr Natalie Collins – Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist
Dr Natalie Collins is an APA Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist, and Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy at The University of Queensland. Her research focuses on improving the lives of people with knee pain conditions across the lifespan. She has conducted large, long-term studies on patellofemoral pain and osteoarthritis, including randomised clinical trials and a five-year longitudinal cohort study on early osteoarthritis in young adults with patellofemoral pain. Dr Collins is Chair of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Engagement Committee, and a member of the PEDro Steering Committee. She has received invitations to speak at the World Congress on Osteoarthritis, International Patellofemoral Research Retreat, Singapore Physiotherapy Conference and Australian Physiotherapy Association’s national conference, and present her research to international research groups. Dr Collins has published more than 87 peer-reviewed papers, received more than $1.6 million in competitive funding, and contributed to leading international publications such as Brukner and Khan’s Clinical Sports Medicine.
Dr Rachel Harris, Sport and Exercise Physician
Dr Rachel Harris is a Sport and Exercise Physician based in Perth and works out of Perth Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Centre. Rachel has been the Project Lead for the AIS Female performance & health initiative since it began in 2019. She is the Chief Medical Officer for Paralympics Australia, and the Chief Medical Officer for Water Polo Australia for the Tokyo Cycle. She swam for Australia at the Sydney Olympics, and is a Gold Medallist from the Kuala Lumbar Commonwealth Games in the 800m Freestyle.
Dr Matt Whalan, Physiotherapist
Associate Professor Adam Bryant