Lieven Annemans, Belgium Lieven is a health economist, director of the independent research organisation HEDM (Health Economics and Disease Management) since March 1997, Professor of Health Economics at the Medical Faculty and Pharmacoepidemiology at the Pharmaceutical Faculty at Ghent University since February 2001. He is also Chairman of the Flemish Health Council, and advisory board to the Minister of Public Health. Before starting HEDM and becoming a Professor, he has worked for several years in the pharmaceutical Industry in market research and health economic functions. Since working as a researcher, he has experience in health economic evaluations in 12 different countries, various therapeutic areas, including alcoholism, Alzheimer s disease, antibiotherapy, arthritis, asthma and COPD, BPH, burns, different types of cancer, depression, schizophrenia, diabetes, fungal infections, viral infections, different dermatological conditions, cardiovascular diseases, gastro-entereologic disorders, muskulo-skeletal disorders, Parkinson s disease, vaccination against different diseases, severe sepsis, and transplantation. His educational record includes a Master s degree in Physical Education, a Master s degree in Management from Brussels Free University, a Degree in Commercial Engineering from the Solvay School of Business Economics, a degree in Health Economics from the University of Antwerp, and a PhD in Economics from Brussels Free University. His main interests are decision and epidemiological models, early new technology assessment, retrospective/ prospective economic evaluations, and willingness to pay assessments. Lieven is fluent in Dutch, English and French and has good practical knowledge of German and Spanish.
Bart Koes, the Netherlands Bart was born on the 3rd of June 1962 in The Hague in The Netherlands. After graduation in 1981, he studied Health Sciences at the University of Limburg, Maastricht in the Netherlands. In 1986 he received his Masters-degree. From 1987 to 1992 he was a PhD-student at the department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of Limburg. In 1992 he received his PhD-degree (thesis 'efficacy of manual therapy and physiotherapy for persistent back and neck complaints'). Since 1992 he worked as senior investigator and later as associate professor at the Institute for Research in Extramural Medicine at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam. He has been involved in research on musculoskeletal disorders, mainly from a clinical epidemiological perspective. He currently is appointed as full professor and head of the research unit at the Department of General Practice, Erasmus University in Rotterdam. He has published widely in (inter)national journals on the efficacy of treatment for low-back pain and neck pain, systematic reviews, meta-analysis and research methodology in general. He is member of the international advisory board of Manual Therapy.
Neil O Connell, United Kingdom Dr Neil O Connell is a lecturer in Physiotherapy in Brunel University, London, UK. He divides his time between research and teaching and previously worked extensively as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist. He leads a module in the principles and practice of evidence based healthcare for post-graduate physiotherapists and occupational therapists. Neil s main research interests are chronic low back pain and chronic pain generally with a focus on evidence based practice and he has published extensively in this area. Neil is a member of the editorial board of the Cochrane Collaboration s Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care (PaPaS) group and the Journal of Pain, is the section editor for clinical trials and systematic reviews for the pain science blog Body in Mind (www.bodyinmind.org ) and is currently a member of the Guideline Development Group for the UK s National Institute of Health and Care Excellence (NICE) updated guideline for the management of low back pain.
Michele Sterling, Australia Michele is Professor in the School of Allied Health, Director of NHMRC Centre of research Excellence in Road Traffic Injury, Associate Director of the Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine (CONROD), Griffith Health Institute, Griffith University. She holds a NHMRC Senior Research Fellowship, is a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist and a Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists. Michele leads the Rehabilitation (Medicine and Allied Health) program at CONROD. Her research focuses are 1) the biological and psychological factors underlying chronic pain development following minor injury; 2) the prediction of outcome following whiplash injury; 3) improving the timing and nature of interventions for musculoskeletal injury and pain and 4) translation of research findings to clinical practice. Michele has received over $13M in competitive research funding and has published over 100 papers and two books in the areas of whiplash injury and musculoskeletal pain. She is a member of the Editorial Board of PLos One and is Associate Editor of the European Journal of Physiotherapy. Michele is Chair of the Scientific Committee of the Australian Pain Society and is a past member of the Scientific Committee of the International Association for the Study of Pain. She is also member of the international advisory board of Manual Therapy.
Monika Hasenbring, Germany Monika is Professor of Medical Psychology and Head of the Dept. of Medical Psychology and Sociology at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany. Her main research interests are in the fields of psychobiological pain research. In pain research her group is engaged in psychobiological risk factors and mechanisms concerning the transition from acute to chronic musculoskeletal pain. She conducted a series of prospective longitudinal studies identifying clinical and psychological risk factors for the development of chronic pain, disability and work loss in subacute sciatic pain and non-specific low back pain. The risk factors of depression and individual pain responses are conceptualized within the Avoidance-Endurance Model of pain (AEM), proposing three maladaptive patterns of pain responses (fear-avoidance pattern, distress-endurance and eustress-endurance pattern) besides one adaptive pattern. Her group further developed a computerized, telemedical system delivering a reliable and valid assessment of these high and low risk patterns that are used in out- and inpatient settings (i.e. primary care practices, physiotherapy, psychotherapy, multimodal rehabilitation). This screening is guiding risk factor based, individually tailored patient education and cognitive behavior treatment programs aimed at the prevention and treatment of chronic pain problems. Clinical research was supplemented by experimental biopsychosocial studies elucidating specific mechanisms of maladaptive pathways using overt accelerometer-based physical activity, adrenocortical activity (cortisol), pain sensitivity (QST), imaging (VBM). Currently, pain research was extended exploring the role of gene-environment interaction for the development of depression in musculoskeletal pain. This research was funded for several years by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Research Foundation (DFG) and within a nationwide research network by the German Institute of Sports Medicine (BISP). Monika is member of the committee developing the National Guidelines of Diagnostics and Treatment of Back Pain (NVL Back Pain).
Rob Smeets, the Netherlands Rob is a professor in rehabilitation medicine and consultant in rehabilitation medicine. His main focus of work is the multidisciplinary treatment of patients with chronic musculoskeletal pain disorders. He has been working at the Adelante Centre of Expertise in Rehabilitation and Maastricht University Medical Centre since 2008. Rob s ambition with the SIG Pain and Movement is to contribute to the integration of research and clinical practice with the aim of improving the care of patients with severe limitations in activity and participation due to chronic musculoskeletal complaints. Rob's Quote: Keep on moving no matter how painful it might be! http://www.painandmovement.net
Deborah Falla, Germany Deborah received her PhD in Physiotherapy from The University of Queensland, Australia in 2003. In 2005 she was awarded Fellowships from the International Association for the Study of Pain and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia to undertake postdoctoral research at the Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction, Aalborg University, Denmark. From 2007 to 2010 she was an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Health Science and Technology, Aalborg University, Denmark. Since 2012 she is a Professor at the Center for Anesthesiology, Emergency and Intensive Care Medicine and Department of Neurorehabilitation Engineering, University Hospital Goettingen, Germany. Her research focus involves the integration of neurophysiological and clinical research to evaluate neuromuscular control of the spine in people with chronic pain. Her research interests also include motor skill learning and training for musculoskeletal pain disorders. In this field she has published over 80 papers in peer-reviewed Journals, more than 100 conference papers/abstracts and received the Delsys Prize for Electromyography Innovation in 2004. She has given over 70 invited lectures and has provided professional continuing education courses on the management of neck pain to health practitioners in over 20 countries. She is co-author of the book entitled "Whiplash, Headache and Neck Pain: Research Based Directions for Physical Therapies" published by Elsevier and translated into 4 languages and is Associate Editor of the journal Manual Therapy. Since 2010 she is a Council member of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK). Deborah is one of the associated editors of Manual Therapy.
Benjamin Hidalgo, Belgium Benjamin had completed his master degrees in Physical Education in 2000 (PE) and in Physical Therapy (PT) in 2002 at the Faculty of Motor Sciences from the UCL. He had also completed a degree in Osteopathy (DO) in 2007 at the SCOM. Benjamin was also certified in orthopaedic manual therapy (OMT) from Manual Concepts, Curtin University in 2011, as well as from the UCL in 2014. Benjamin has completed his PhD in March 2015 on the topic: Evidence based practice orthopaedic manual therapy in non-specific LBP: a kinematic spine model analysis. Between 2002 until now, Benjamin has specialized in the evaluation and treatment of neuromusculoskeletal disorders of the whole body in his private practice. For many years, he is an accomplished practitioner, teacher and researcher in physical therapy. He recently received an OMT-France-award for his scientific research concerning SNAGS at the lumbar spine.
Michel Coppieters, the Netherlands Michel is a musculoskeletal physiotherapist with a special interest in nerve disorders and pain. His research consists of clinical studies as well as more basic science experiments. His research aims to obtain a better understanding of the pathophysiology of nerve injuries, to develop novel treatment approaches for patients with neuropathic pain and to test the clinical efficacy of these programs. Michel has published widely on this topic, he presents frequently conferences and he has delivered a large number of clinical workshops, both nationally and internationally. Since 2014, he is Full Professor in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy at VU University Amsterdam in The Netherlands. His task is to develop and support new lines of musculoskeletal physiotherapy research and to coordinate a new Master of Science program in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. Previously, he was Associate Professor at The University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, where he taught in the undergraduate and postgraduate physiotherapy programs. He was the inaugural director of the Neuropathic Pain Research Group in the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health at the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. He s a member of the editorial board of Manual Therapy.
Wim Dankaerts, Belgium Wim is a Professor in Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation and member of the Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation Research Unit, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Kinesiology and Rehabilitation Sciences, KU Leuven where he teaches undergraduate and post graduate musculoskeletal physiotherapy, supervises post graduate students and conducts research in musculoskeletal pain disorders. He is a specialist in musculoskeletal physiotherapy, and is both a clinician and a researcher. His extensive clinical experience over a period of more than 20 years generated a major research interest in chronic LBP. Wim has published more than 35 peer-reviewed articles, presented or participated in more than 50 conference papers, and been a key/invited speaker at more than 30 conferences. He has received invitations from national physiotherapy associations to conduct clinical workshops in musculoskeletal physiotherapy in Australia, Brasil, Taiwan, Dubai, South Africa, Netherlands, Sweden, Scotland, United Kingdom, Ireland, Switzerland, Saudi Arabia, United States, Germany and Norway. He is a member of the scientific committee of Axxon BCIG, MATHERA.be - the Belgian Clinical Interest Group Manual Therapy.
Nathalie Roussel, Belgium Nathalie graduated as Master of Science in Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Sciences at the Catholic University of Leuven in 2000 and obtained a PhD at the faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp in 2009. She works as an assistant Professor in the department of Rehabilitation Sciences & Physiotherapy, University of Antwerp. As head of the division of Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy, she combines teaching, research and clinical work. Her main research focusses are control of movement and the relationship between pain and movement in patients with low back pain and musculoskeletal disorders. She is a member of the international research group Pain in Motion and secretary of the Belgian Back Society. In addition, she coordinates the research regarding the study and prevention of injuries in performing artists. She published more than 40 peer-reviewed publications as (co)-author and is regularly invited to present her results at congresses.
Katrien Bartholomeeusen, Belgium Katrien has a Master Degree in Manipulative Physiotherapy and a Master Degree in Sports Physiotherapy. She s been teaching for more than 20 years in post graduate programs. She runs her own clinic for musculoskeletal disorders and has been doing clinical work for more than 20 years. She s a certified coach and is specialized in second opinion.