Our people are linked by a common conviction in delivering better health outcomes. IIMPACT in Health has identified several challenges that we think are particularly well suited to our ‘discovery to care’ approach, and our expertise and training as allied health professionals. Those Big Challenges in Health include persistent pain, persistent breathlessness, stroke recovery and healthier kids and adolescents. Each of these areas also contribute to our final challenge - the rural-metro health divide. Together with UniSA’s Department of Rural Health, we are combining skills and expertise to optimise our impact on each of these Big Challenges. 

Our Challenge Leaders are Professor Susan Hillier (stroke recovery), Professor Marie Williams (breathlessness), Dr Margarita Tsiros (kids and adolescents), Professor Lorimer Moseley AO (pain) and Prof Esther May (rural-metro divide).

  • tree-green-growth Persistent breathlessness minus-thin plus-thin

    Persistent Breathlessness Challenge

    Marie Williams doesn’t think that breathlessness is something you just have to put up with as you get older. She leads the Persistent Breathlessness theme within IIMPACT focused on this common troublesome sensation and the possibilities for living life unlimited by breathlessness.

    Research Fellow

    • Dr Hayley Lewthwaite - Exertional breathlessness (Adjunct, Clinical Exercise and Respiratory Physiology Laboratory, McGill University, Montreal)
    • Mrs Mary Young – Breathlessness service implementation (Adjunct Senior Clinical Fellow,  Respiratory Nurse Practitioner, Department of Thoracic Medicine, Heart & Lung Service, CALHN)


    Academic Staff


    Professional Staff


    Postgraduate Students

    • Maria Chilvers
    • Laura Cooper
    • David Baglow
    • Catherine Pendergrast
    • Emma Edwards
  • thinking-mind Persistent pain minus-thin plus-thin

    Persistent Pain Challenge

    Lorimer is fascinated by protective feelings. Most of his work has focussed on pain and other bodily feelings that go with it. He leads the Persistent Pain theme within IIMPACT, through the internationally renowned Body in Mind Research Group, which just celebrated 10 years of investigating the role of the brain and mind in persistent pain.

    Senior Researchers


    Research Fellows


    Academic Staff

    • Dr Mark Catley - Allied Health & Human Performance Pain Education Lead


    Professional Staff


    Postgraduate Students

    • Ashley Grant
    • Erica Wilkinson
    • Brendan Mouatt
    • Carlie Altmann
    • Caitlin Howlett
    • James Wiltshire
    • Erin MacIntyre
    • Michael Henry
    • Amelia Mardon
    • Johanna Paddick
    • Brian Pulling
    • David Visockis
    • Hayley Leake
    • Anna Vogelzang
    • Emily Moore
    • Caroline Taylor
    • Monique Wilson
    • Liam Roussos
    • Karma Phuentsho
  • medical-call-consultation-telephone Rural Health minus-thin plus-thin

    Rural Health Challenge

    If you live outside a metropolitan centre, as one third of Australians do across our vast brown land, your health is likely to be poorer than that of a city dweller. The Rural Health Research Team members within IIMPACT are focussed on addressing this inequity through creating understanding of, and finding solutions to, health access, quality care and consumer experience.

    Senior Research Fellows


    Research Fellows


    Academic Staff


    Post-Doctoral Research Fellow

    • Dr Priya Martin – Rural Wellbeing and Workforce Development (based in Toowoomba)


    Professional Staff


    Postgraduate Students

    • Paul Cardle
    • Kylie Dankiw
    • Robert Laidlaw
    • Georgia Gosse
    • Barry Kweh
    • Sarah McMullen-Roach
    • Josephine Davies
    • Joseph Orlando
    • Yu Ting Sim
    • Jovana Urukalo
    • Indika Koralegedera

  • question-mind Stroke recovery minus-thin plus-thin

    Stroke Recovery Challenge

    Susan Hillier has worked with the most inspiring people recovering from stroke. How does someone learn to navigate a new life with a brain that does not perceive, think or issues orders like it used to? This question leads to so many more... and that is what gets us out of bed in the morning at IIMPACT.

    Senior researchers

    • Dr Brenton Hordacre – Lead for neuroplasticity and mechanisms of recovery after stroke; use of TMS and TDCS in recovery


    Research Fellow

    • Dr Julie Luker – Qualitative researcher, investigating the experiences of stroke and recovery for people and their support networks


    Academic Staff


    Professional Staff


    Postgraduate Students

    • Innes Serrada
    • Ellana Welsby
    • Marabelle Heng
    • Isabelle Villalta
    • Ashraf Gerges
    • Kate Redden
    • Joanne Bouckley
    • Lindy Williams
    • Marelle Wilson
    • Emily Ong
  • team Child Health minus-thin plus-thin

    Child Health Challenge

    Margarita has spent over 20 years in child health, working as a clinician, educator and researcher. Her research interests include children of all ages with movement challenges, although she has a special interest in overweight and obesity, helping kids to move well and move more. She leads the Child Health Theme at IIMPACT, exploring ways to help children with developmental or health challenges thrive.

    Research Fellows

    • Dr Sarah Wallwork - persistent pain, 'everyday' pain and injury, and pain education in children
    • Dr Carolyn Berryman - Finding comfort - Managing persistent pain in adolescents
    • Dr Hayley Leake - Optimising pain education for adolescents with persistent pain


    Academic Staff

    • Dr Emily Ward - developmental coordination disorder, orthopaedic conditions, movement difficulties in children of all ages, measurement tools
    • Dr Sophie Lefmann - Robotic technologies in children’s rehabilitation, neurodevelopmental conditions, family-centred care approaches, qualitative research
    • Professor Susan Hillier - children of all ages with movement challenges
    • Dr Helen Banwell - children’s foot posture and lower limb assessment measures
    • Dr Ben Sellar - community child health, program planning and evaluation, play, action research, policy analysis, visual methods
    • Dr Kobie Boshoff - (children and youth with disability, developmental conditions and difficulties, Autism, neuro-developmental conditions, child development, neuro-affirmative practice, social inclusion, capacity building, co-design with end-users, including people with disabilities/conditions)


    Professional Staff


    Postgraduate Students

    • Kylie Dankiw
    • Elle Welsby
    • Jovanka Urukalo
    • Georgia Gosse
    • Emma McComb