Natalie Collins

Dr Natalie Collins is an APA Sports & Exercise Physiotherapist, and Associate Professor in Physiotherapy at The University of Queensland. Her research focuses on improving the lives of people with knee pain conditions across the lifespan. Dr Collins has a particular interest in improving management and preventing persistence and progression of patellofemoral pain and patellofemoral osteoarthritis. She has conducted large, long-term studies on patellofemoral pain and osteoarthritis, including randomised clinical trials and a 5-year longitudinal cohort study on early osteoarthritis in young adults with patellofemoral pain. Dr Collins combines this work with studies evaluating mechanisms of foot orthoses treatment effects, including: (i) biomechanics and lower limb muscle activity (NHMRC Fellowship 2010-14, Mechanical Engineering, The University of Melbourne); and (ii) deep intrinsic foot muscle activity (UQ Fellowship 2015-17), where she developed a novel method of measuring EMG activity of these muscles. Her work has directly resulted in foot orthoses & physiotherapy being recommended interventions for patellofemoral pain, facilitating translation to clinical practice.

Dr Collins is Chair of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International (OARSI) Engagement 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 100 peer-reviewed papers, received more than $4million in competitive funding, and contributed to leading international publications such as Brukner and Khan’s Clinical Sports Medicine. She maintains a clinical role specialising in the management of people with knee pain and injury.