Rate My Professor Jeanette Thom

Professor Jeanette Thom is Professor of Exercise Physiology in the Sydney School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, at the University of Sydney, a position she took up upon re-joining the university in 2022. She serves as Director of Rehabilitation Sciences and holds a BSc (Hons) and PhD from the University of Sydney, awarded in 2001. Her previous appointments include Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences at UNSW Sydney and Senior Lecturer and Deputy Head of School (Innovation & Engagement) in the School of Sport, Health and Exercise Sciences at Bangor University, United Kingdom, from July 2005 to May 2014.

Jeanette Thom's research specializations encompass skeletal muscle and joint health in response to exercise training and disuse, with a focus on older adults and chronic conditions including osteoarthritis, back pain, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic kidney disease, metabolic syndrome, and dementia. She contributes to the STREAM Health osteoarthritis and back pain groups and leads efforts in projects such as the HART Project on high-intensity aerobic and resistance training for metabolic syndrome, ballet training in older adults, exercise prescription for chronic kidney disease, pulmonary rehabilitation, and living well with dementia. Her scholarly output includes over 170 publications, with recent works such as 'Time course of perceived knee stiffness following prolonged sitting in healthy adults' (2025), 'Contributions of having a pet to living well with dementia over time: longitudinal findings from the IDEAL cohort' (2025), 'Painful exercise for people with knee osteoarthritis: a randomised controlled feasibility trial' (2025), 'Creaky knees: Is there a reason for concern? A qualitative study' (2023), and 'Exercise on Crepitus in Knee Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis' (2024). These contributions have accumulated 5,732 citations. Thom advances clinical exercise physiology, primary care management of knee osteoarthritis, and community-based physiotherapy-led interventions for chronic conditions.