PHYSIOTHERAPIST-LED CARE FOR MUSCULOSKELETAL CONDITIONS IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
With
Associate Professor Gustavo Machado
University of Sydney &
NHMRC Principal Research Fellow,
Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Australia
RESEARCHER PROFILE
Filmed in Sydney, Australia | November 2026
Associate Professor Gustavo Machado is a physiotherapist and health services researcher at the University of Sydney and the Institute for Musculoskeletal Health, Sydney Local Health District. He holds an NHMRC Investigator Fellowship (EL2) and a University of Sydney Robinson Fellowship.
With over 15 years of research experience, he leads a program focused on transforming musculoskeletal and emergency care through evidence-based practice. His research involves large-scale clinical trials evaluating treatments for musculoskeletal pain, strategies to reduce low-value care, and innovative models of emergency, hospital and virtual care. His work aims to improve patient outcomes, healthcare efficiency and health system sustainability.
Associate Professor Machado has published over 150 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals, including The Lancet, The BMJ, The Lancet Rheumatology and JAMA Health Forum, attracting more than 6,500 citations. He ranks among the world’s top 2% of scientists (Stanford/Elsevier), and his research has informed over 100 policy documents across 17 countries.
He has secured $29 million in competitive research funding as a Chief Investigator and received 30 research and impact awards, including the Research Australia Award, ANZMUSC Trial of the Year and NSW Health Secretary’s Award.
Funding for Associate Professor Machado’s research has included National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC), Medical Research Futures Fund, HCF Australia Research Foundation and Ramsay Hospital Research Foundation.
His collaborations include NSW Ambulance, NSW Agency for Clinical Innovation, Australian Physiotherapy Association, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and the Australian & New Zealand College of Emergency Nursing.
He contributes to national research and health policy committees, including the NHMRC, Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and ANZMUSC. He is a Fellow of the International Society for Quality in Health Care and a member of the Royal Society of NSW.
Source: Supplied and adapted
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8544-0448
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Role of Community Paramedicine in Non-Emergency Presentations
Dr Robbie King is a Lecturer in paramedicine and researcher at the Australian Catholic University (ACU) Brisbane. He also continues to provide clinical care as a registered paramedic for community members served by a jurisdictional ambulance service. Dr King has gained significant experience working in an advanced practice, community paramedic style role, holding expert clinical insight into the nuances of paramedic-led community-based healthcare for non-emergency presentations. This often involves adopting a biopsychosocial approach, rather than following the biomedical model more associated with emergency medicine and paramedic culture.
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Professor Matthew Kiernan
BRAIN AND MIND CENTRE
@ UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES AUSTRALIA -
Neonatal respiratory trials in sick & preterm newborn infants
Prof Brett J. Manley leads and collaborates on large national and international randomised clinical trials in neonatology. He previously collaborated on 4 randomised trials of nasal high-flow as non-invasive respiratory support for preterm and term infants, all of which were published in N Engl J Med. Recently he led the PLUSS trial of intratracheal budesonide for extremely preterm infants, that recruited in 21 NICUs across 4 countries, the results of which were published in JAMA. PLUSS was awarded the Australian Clinical Trials Alliance Trial of the Year in 2025. Another passion of his is mentoring and supervising early career researchers to undertake their own clinical trials.
