Chris Maher PhD, FACP, FAAHMS

Chris Maher graduated as a physiotherapist in 1982. Chris is a fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapy and has degrees in physiotherapy, manipulative physiotherapy and exercise science. In the first part of his career, he worked as a clinical physiotherapist in primary care and hospital settings in Australia and the United Kingdom. Subsequently, he has worked in academic and research Chris is currently Professor of Physiotherapy in Sydney MedicalSchool, The University of Sydney and Director of the Musculoskeletal Division at The George Institute for Global Health. He leads a research division focusing on the management of musculoskeletal conditions in primary care and community settings. Prof Maher’s research evaluates the primary care management of back pain and he holds an honorary NHMRC Senior ResearchFellowship and an ARC Future Fellowship. Most of Chris’s research is conducted in primary care.
He has completed clinical trials, diagnostic studies, prognostic studies and risk studies. A good example of a clinical trial is the PACE trial which evaluated the efficacy of different dosing regimens for paracetamol in 1650 patients with acute low back pain. In the TRIGGERS studyhe used a case-crossover design to investigate risk associated with transient exposure to a range of physical and psychosocial factors with a new episode of low back pain.