Rate My Professor Paul Hodges

Professor Paul Hodges is a Professor and NHMRC Leadership Fellow (Level 3) in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences within the Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences at the University of Queensland. He holds the position of Director of the Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR). His academic qualifications include a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours), PhD from the University of Queensland (1996) on motor control of the transversus abdominis muscle for stabilisation of the lumbar spine, PhD from Karolinska Institute, Doctor of Science (Advanced) from the University of Queensland (2009), and an honorary Doctorate in Medicine from Ghent University. Hodges has held progressive NHMRC Research Fellowships, including Senior Research Fellowship (2001-2005), Principal Research Fellowship (2006-2010), and NHMRC Research Fellowship (SPRF) from 2011-2015 focused on physiology and pathophysiology of musculoskeletal disorders.

Recognised as a world leader in movement control, pain, and rehabilitation, Professor Hodges employs a comprehensive research approach from molecular biology to brain physiology, biomechanics, and human function. His discoveries have transformed understanding of altered movement in pain, identifying neuromuscular changes across conditions such as low back pain, incontinence, and breathing disorders, which have been translated into effective clinical treatments implemented internationally. He has produced over 750 works, including influential books *Therapeutic Exercise for Lumbopelvic Stabilization: A Motor Control Approach for the Treatment and Prevention of Low Back Pain* (Richardson, Hodges, Hides; 2004, 2nd ed.) and *Therapeutic Exercise for Spinal Segmental Stabilization in Low Back Pain: Scientific Basis and Clinical Approach* (Richardson, Jull, Hodges, Hides; 1999), alongside seminal papers such as 'Contraction of the abdominal muscles associated with movement of the lower limb' (Hodges & Richardson; 1997, Physical Therapy) and 'Inefficient muscular stabilization of the lumbar spine associated with low back pain' (Hodges & Richardson; 1996, Spine). Hodges is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and Australian College of Physiotherapists, and has received five International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine Prizes (Basic Science: 2006, 2011, 2019; Clinical Science: 2018, 2021), NHMRC Achievement Award (2011), and Young Australian of the Year Award in Science and Technology (1997). He chairs the Terminology Task Force of the International Association for the Study of Pain and the Consensus for Experimental Design in Electromyography of the International Society for Electrophysiology and Kinesiology, and leads major international pain research consortia. As lead chief investigator on NHMRC Synergy Grants, his work drives impactful clinical trials and prevention strategies.