Andrew Claus

From 2020 Andrew has led research development at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre (Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital). Topics including clinical outcome measures, service evaluation and strategic planning, clinical trials employing pain education, opioid management, quantitative sensory testing and medical procedures. Current and recent projects include:

• Initiating the Pelvic Exenteration Pain Management Research Collaboration in 2024: A multidisciplinary community of clinicians and researchers at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, the Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, and the STARS Hospital, to study how the quality of life can be improved for people who have pelvic organs and tissues removed to manage cancer.
• Collaboration with the Institute of Urban Indigenous Health, to embed multidisciplinary research and quality improvement in the co-design and implementation of collaborative care between the TCPRC- IUIH, at the Moreton Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Health Service in Caboolture through 2023-2024.
• Contributing to the non-surgical pain management stream for the NHMRC-NIHR Collaborative Research Grant, for a multicentre RCT on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of lumbar fusion surgery for patients with persistent, severe low back pain: Short: FusiOn veRsus bEst coNServatIve Care (the FORENSIC trial)
• The LIDOPAIN RCT in 2023: Lidocaine Infusion Dose Optimisation for Pain After Injury to Nerves, was a double-blind placebo-controlled pilot feasibility study for lidocaine infusions, with comprehensive pre-post evaluation of patient questionnaires and sensory testing profiles, to identify which patients do and to not respond to this infusion. https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=382966&isReview=true
• Advisor for Phoebe Ng, oral thesis defense 2024: Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: Insights into health profile and paraspinal muscle activation.
• Advisor for Fraser Labrom, thesis awarded 2023: Three dimensional analysis of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis during growth.
• Collaboration with UQ RECOVER Injury Research Centre have
  • Currently completing a project funded by the RBWH Foundation, to examine small nerve fibre expression acutely and subacutely after motor vehicle accident, as a marker associated with the transition from acute to chronic pain.
  • Developed a chatbot for providing pain education for children and for adults,
  • Investigated the validity of phone apps for measuring the 6-minute walk test in people with persistent pain.
• Locally at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre I co-lead annual projects for
  • quality improvement: UQ PHRM4071 student placement and Pain Medicine Trainee projects.
  • audit: ePPOC annual data reporting.
  • systematic reviews: UQ HRSS7801 group physiotherapy student project.

From 2004-2019 Andrew's PhD and postgraduate supervision as a lecturer in physiotherapy, focussed on how the brain controls posture and movement. This included studies of sitting, standing, stepping, squatting, pushing and postural control with low back pain and with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. Extending understanding of postural control continues with colleagues at QUT Biomechanics and Spine Research Group (Prof Peter Pivonka, Maree Izatt and Assoc Prof Paige Little), the UQ Schools of ITEE (Dr Pauline Pounds) and SBMS Motor Control and Pain laboratory (Assoc Prof Kylie Tucker), and with Curtin University / UWA Raine cohort study (Prof Leon Straker).