Rate My Professor Fiona Hawke

Dr. Fiona Hawke is a Senior Lecturer in Podiatry within the School of Health Sciences, College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing, at the University of Newcastle, Australia, based on the Central Coast Campus. She holds a PhD from the University of Sydney, a Bachelor of Applied Science (Podiatry) Honours from the University of Western Sydney, and a Graduate Certificate in the Practice of Tertiary Teaching from the University of Newcastle. An international expert in muscle cramps, Hawke specializes in evidence-based podiatry, lower limb problems in children, professional podiatry practice, systematic reviews, paediatric podiatry, and foot health in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. She is an experienced Cochrane reviewer who has published five Cochrane systematic reviews and collaborates nationally and internationally with researchers in podiatry, neurology, physiotherapy, and sleep medicine. Her work includes investigations into the correlates, impact, and non-drug therapies for night-time and exercise-associated lower limb cramps, as well as diabetes-related foot complications and culturally safe care.

Hawke's career encompasses clinical podiatry positions at Cardiff Podiatry Clinic, Waratah Medical Centre, Toronto Health, and Newcastle Family and Sports Podiatry, alongside a Research Assistant role at the University of Western Sydney Centre for Complementary Medicine Research. She has earned major awards such as the Mid-Career Researcher Award for the College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing (2022), Best Presentation by Mid-Career Researcher (2022), Alex Stacoff Memorial Award for best paper at the 2014 International Foot and Ankle Biomechanics Congress, Best New Investigator Award at the 2009 Australasian Podiatry Council Conference, and Faculty of Health and Medicine Indigenous Collaboration Excellence Award (2014). Key publications include Cochrane reviews on custom-made foot orthoses for foot pain (2009, updated) and non-drug therapies for lower limb muscle cramps (2012, updated 2015), book chapters on forefoot entities (2015) and neuromuscular diseases in children (2018), and articles such as 'Correlates of night-time lower limb cramps in healthy adults' (2024). Hawke serves on the School of Health Sciences Research and Research Training Committee, delivers public lectures on muscle cramps and paediatric podiatry, and has been interviewed by BBC World Service, ABC Radio National, and ABC Central Coast.