Dr Suzanne Snodgrass

Biography

Dr Snodgrass is a Senior Lecturer in Physiotherapy. Prior to coming to academia, she worked as a physiotherapist in private practice and sporting settings for 10 years in the USA and Australia. Since returning to study in 2001, she has completed her PhD, "Performance of cervical spine mobilisation by physiotherapists," and has published 14 papers in peer-reviewed journals and given 20 conference presentations. Her work has been recognised with several awards, including excellence in a published review of the literature in an international journal and an international post-graduate student prize.

Dr Snodgrass has published widely on the manual forces that physiotherapists apply to the neck when performing mobilisation techniques. Her current research interests are in the areas of manual therapy, neck pain, injury risk and healthy lifestyles. She is currently working with several research teams on topics including cervical spine pain mechanisms, risk factors for sporting injuries, health professional interventions for weight management, and student assessment.

Dr Snodgrass has a strong interest in student learning, and is currently the project leader of an Australian Learning and Teaching Council grant to investigate the effectiveness of electronic assessment and feedback mechanisms for evaluating health students practical skills. She has previously developed equipment that is now used to teach physiotherapy students to apply manual therapy techniques with appropriate levels of force.

Dr Snodgrass served on the Scientific Committee for the Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Australia (MPA) national conference in 2007 and convened this conference in 2009. She is an invited reviewer for four international journals in the field of physiotherapy. She currently serves on the NSW MPA committee.

Qualifications

• PhD (Physiotherapy), University of Newcastle, 2008
• Master of Medical Science, University of Newcastle, 2004
• Bachelor of Science (Physical Therapy), University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1992

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Research

Research keywords

• cervical spine
• healthy lifestyle
• musculoskeletal manipulations
• neck pain
• physical activity
• physical therapy/physiotherapy
• spine

Research expertise

Dr Snodgrass' research focusses on physiotherapeutic interventions for patients with neck pain designed to improve the mechanics and function of the joints and muscles. These include neuromuscular training regimes and manual therapies.

Recent and current projects also include the following topics:

Manual physiotherapy treatments for spinal pain, reliability, treatment dosages and applications;

Implementing healthy lifestyle interventions in patients treated by allied health professionals;

Evaluating the use of technology for assessing practical skills in health professional students;

Determining risk factors and predictors of injury in sport and work.

Collaboration

Current research interests are in the areas of manual therapy, neck pain, injury risk and healthy lifestyles. Dr Snodgrass is currently working with several research teams on topics including cervical spine pain mechanisms, risk factors for sporting injuries, health professional interventions for weight management, and student assessment.

Fields of Research

Code	Description	Percentage
110300	Clinical Sciences	45
110600	Human Movement And Sports Science	45
110499	Complementary And Alternative Medicine Not Elsewhere Classified	10

Centres and Groups

Centre

• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Gender, Health & Ageing
• PRC - Priority Research Centre for Translational Neuroscience and Mental Health (CTNMH)

Memberships

Body relevant to professional practice.

• Member - Australian Physiotherapy Association

Committee/Associations (relevant to research).

• Member, Scientific Committee - Scientific Committee Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Australia Biennial Conference 2007

Other

• Member - Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Australia

Awards

Research Award.

2008	ANZAME Post-graduate Student Award Australia and New Zealand Association for Health Professional Education (ANZAME) (Australia) For: Innovative technology accelerates learning of hands-on physiotherapy treatment skills (Snodgrass SJ, Rivett DA, Robertson VJ, & Stojanovski E)
2007	Best of the Best Research Showcase First Runner-up Faculty of Health, The University of Newcastle (Australia) For outstanding oral presentation
2005	Faculty of Health Award for Outstanding Oral Presentation Faculty of Health, University of Newcastle (Australia) Graduate Students' Day award for outstanding oral presentation.
2002	OPTP Award for Excellence in a Published Review of the Literature Journal of Manual and Manipulative Therapy (United States) Journal award for published research article.

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Administrative

Administrative expertise

Bachelor of Health Sciences (Honours) Program Convenor

School of Health Sciences Honours Coordinator (Embedded+ and End-on programs)

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Teaching

Teaching keywords

• musculoskeletal physiotherapy
• physiotherapy
• sports physiotherapy
• therapeutic exercise

Teaching expertise

Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy

Practical assessment for health students