Latest News - 2
Veronique Price
- Kneearthroplasty
- Patient satisfaction
- Qualitative research
Nardia-Rose Klem
BSc Physio (Hon); PhD (enrolled)
Nardia is a clinical physiotherapist completing her PhD at Curtin University with the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence. At OPUS, Nardia is working to gain a better understand of success after TKR, through both better understanding patient satisfaction and exploring the cross-over between satisfaction and patient reported changes in pain and function outcomes. The study combines interviews from 40 people who have undergone a total knee replacement surgery, with data from 500 people from the total knee replacement registry based at St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne. These data will be compared to create a bigger picture of ‘success’ and potentially inform the variables that influence individuals to having a ‘successful’ total knee replacement.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Research Training Program Stipend scholarship
OTHER KEY ROLES
Physiotherapist
Curtin University: Research Assistant
Curtin University, School of Physiotherapy: Undergraduate Tutor
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Qualitative Research
- Primary Care
- Chronic Illness
Michelle Tew
MPH; MPharm; PhD (enrolled)
Michelle Tew is a PhD Candidate at the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence and is a Health Economics Research Fellow at the Centre for Health Policy, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health. Her research interests include economic evaluation and modelling, health services utilisation, prescription medications and using patient-reported outcomes to guide value-based care.
Her current research project focuses on the health economics of infections in cancer patients and patients undergoing lower limb arthroplasty. Her research aims to maximise the use of longitudinal data to better understand patterns of health outcomes and health service use, and to develop and test economic evaluation methods to provide valuable input and better inform health policy decisions.
OTHER KEY ROLES
Melbourne School Of Population And Global Health: Health Economics Research Fellow
Medical Services Advisory Committee (MSAC), Department of Health: Member
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Musuloskeletal pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Cognitive Functional Therapy
Jay-Shian Tan
MPhty, BSc (Phys), PhD (enrolled)
Jay is a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist currently undertaking a PhD in Physiotherapy at Curtin University and the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence. He currently consults on a part time basis, working with people with complex and chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions.
Jay’s studies will explore the use of wireless movement sensors that provide joint angle and muscle activity data for people with knee osteoarthritis. If these sensors are successful in detecting movement, clinicians may be able to use them to assess the movement of their patients outside the clinical environment. He also plans to investigate the role of these sensors in detecting changes in movement after Cognitive Functional Therapy to determine if a change in movement is associated with a change in disability and pain.
OTHER KEY ROLES
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy Association WA: Chair
InTouch Magazine: Clinical Editor
Curtin University, School of Physiotherapy: Postgraduate Tutor/Clinical Supervisor
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Total joint replacement surgery
- Osteoarthritis
- Waste minimisation
Dr Jason Trieu
MD, PhD (enrolled)
Total joint replacement surgery is highly effective for end-stage symptomatic osteoarthritis of the hip and knee. In Australia we currently perform more than 100,000 of these procedures each year, but at a cost of greater than $2 billion. Dr Trieu’s PhD research is going to critically examine the fundamental cost basis of performing total joint replacement surgery in Australia to identify areas where we can refine our practices to minimise waste and inefficiencies whilst maintaining the standard of care we provide for our patients, and will attempt to identify relationships between these underlying variables and their relation to long-term patient outcomes on a population level.
Research publications
SCHOLARSHIPS
Research Training Program Scholarship
OTHER KEY ROLES
Medical Doctor
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Clinical orthopaedics
- Arthroplasty
- Health literacy
- Digital health
Dr Myles Davaris
MD, BBiomed, PhD (enrolled)
Dr Davaris is a medical doctor pursuing a career in orthopaedic surgery. He is currently undertaking his PhD through St Vincent’s Hospital and The University of Melbourne within the OPUS Research Stream 4. His research interests lie at the nexus of clinical orthopaedics and digital health. He is passionate about exploring how digital technologies can enhance health literacy and improve patient outcomes during the total joint replacement journey.
Research publications
OTHER KEY ROLES
Medical Doctor
Student Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association (SOMA): Founding member and Vice President
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Machine Learning
- Shared Decision-Making
- Risk Prediction
- Qualitative Research
- Total Knee Replacement
@DJGould94
Daniel Gould
BSc, MD-PhD (enrolled), Graduate Diploma in Biostatistics (enrolled)
Daniel Gould is the first MD student to transition to a formal MD-PhD program at the University of Melbourne. He works within Streams 2 and 3 of the OPUS CRE, namely Risk Prediction and Shared Decision-Making, respectively. Specifically, he is working with experienced clinical researchers, qualitative researchers, and artificial intelligence experts to develop a machine learning-enabled risk prediction tool for total knee replacement recipients while also investigating the views of patients and surgeons on the use of artificial intelligence in healthcare.
Daniel’s long-term research goal is to build artificial intelligence systems and embed them in clinical workflow to improve patient care. A key aspect of this research is involving stakeholders and ensuring their input is valued and prioritized throughout the process.
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
2018 Australian Orthopaedic Association Joint University Scholarship
OTHER KEY ROLES
OPUS Translation and Engagement; OPUS Consumer Engagement; OPUS Data Link; St Vincent’s Surgical Students’ Society: Committee Member
SOMA (Students in Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Academia): President
Department of Surgery, University of Melbourne: Research Assistant
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Joint replacement
- Pharmacoepidemiology
- Bioethics and Clinical ethics
Cade Shadbolt
BA, MA, PhD (enrolled)
Cade is a University of Melbourne PhD candidate at the OPUS Centre for Research Excellence. He has previously completed a Master of Arts (Professional and Applied Ethics) and Bachelor of Arts (Philosophy), and is now pursuing pharmaco-epidemiological academic interests.
His PhD project aims to better understand the impact of preoperative opioid use on outcomes following total joint replacement. This project will draw on data from the SMART registry, which has recently been linked to the Australian national prescribing database. To investigate differences in the prevalence of preoperative opioid use between countries, this project will involve ongoing collaboration with members of the Consortium Against the overuse of Opioids in Surgery.
Shadbolt C, Abbott JH, Camacho X, Clarke P, Lohmander LS, Spelman T, Sun EC, Thorlund JB, Zhang Y, Dowsey MM, Choong PF. The Surgeon’s Role in the Opioid Crisis: A Narrative Review and Call to Action. Frontiers in Surgery. 2020;7:4.
McDougall R, Shadbolt C, Gillam L. The practice of balancing in clinical ethics case consultation. Clinical Ethics. 2019. Doi: 10.1177/1477750919897377
McDougall R, Hayes B, Sellars M, Pratt B, Hutchinson A, Tacey M, Detering K, Shadbolt C, Ko D. ‘This is uncharted water for all of us’: challenges anticipated by hospital clinicians when voluntary assisted dying becomes legal in Victoria. Australian Health Review. 2019. doi: 10.1071/AH19108
Awards/Scholarships
2020 – 2022 Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship and Stipend
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Joint Replacement
- Osteoarthritis
- Sex-differences in outcomes
Annabelle Choong
BBmed, BBmed (Hon) (enrolled)
Annabelle is a University of Melbourne Honours student contributing to research that informs discussions between clinicians and patients about postoperative outcomes, recovery and mitigation of risks following joint replacement. Specifically, she is researching the sex-differences observed in patients following surgery. This includes variation in pain and functional status before and after surgery, and rates of infection, revision, mortality and other adverse complications.
Research publications
Tew, M., Dowsey, M. M., Choong, A., Choong, P. F., & Clarke, P. J. J. o. C. M. (2020). Co-Morbidities and Sex Differences in Long-Term Quality-of-Life Outcomes among Patients with and without Diabetes after Total Knee Replacement: Five-Year Data from Registry Study. 9(1), 19.
OTHER KEY ROLES
Social Media and Promotions Officer for SOMA (Students’ Orthopaedic and Musculoskeletal Association)
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Indigenous Health
- Osteoartritis
- Joint Pain
Naz Rind
BNursingSc
Naz is a registered nurse, an Aboriginal Research Assistant at OPUS and is identified in her tribe as a Yamatji/Wongi lady. Naz engages and liaises with Aboriginal communities as a healthcare worker to build trust and develop a rapport and understanding of long-term health. She is passionate about improving Aboriginal community health awareness by helping individuals recognise the symptoms of osteoarthritis – a common health issue that is not fully recognised in Aboriginal communities.
Naz is a vital member of the OPUS ECCO program where she conducts interviews with Aboriginal patients and provides ongoing cultural support and knowledge to OPUS-related activities.
Australian College of Nursing Puggy Hunter Memorial Scholarship Scheme (PHMSS)
Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nurses and Midwives (CATSINaM) Scholarship
Australian Rotary Indigenous Health Scholarship
OTHER KEY ROLES
Registered Nurse (Grade 2, Year 5) Dialysis nurse treating acute and chronic patients in ICU and ED
Trainer for nursing students
Health worker in Aboriginal communities, community nursing and mental health units
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Aboriginal Health
- Osteoarthritis
- Community Engagement
- Joint pain
Dr Tilini Gunatillake
PhD; BSc (Hons)
Tilini is a research fellow working in the ECCO stream of the OPUS CRE, which focuses on providing equitable, culturally secure osteoarthritis care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Tilini engages with local Aboriginal communities and organisations on behalf of ECCO to build meaningful partnerships. By understanding how Aboriginal Australians perceive their health and drawing on their knowledge of the disease, she endeavours to develop an approach better suited for Aboriginal Australians to access culturally secure osteoarthritis care.
Tilini also works for St Vincent’s Health Australia, under the leadership of Professor Gail Garvey. Her role involves assisting in the development and implementation of an Aboriginal health research strategy across the entire organization and assisting in building up capacity of Aboriginal staff to carry out research. Tilini is passionate about social and health justice, and also embedding the voice of the community and consumers in the research process.
GRANTS
Research Endowment Grant for The ‘in-patient’ study: exploring the knowledge and understanding of osteoarthritis in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander patients admitted at SVHM ($16,938)
OTHER KEY ROLES
OPUS Consumer and Community Advisory Group: Liaison Officer
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE

- Health economics
- Economic modelling
- Economic evaluation
Dr Chris Schilling
PhD, MSc, BEng (Hons)/BCom(Hons)
Dr Chris Schilling is an academic and consultant health economist who works across the OPUS CRE to provide health economics, economic evaluation and economic modelling support. His research priorities include improving the cost-effectiveness of surgery, understanding the economics of trials, and reducing low-value care in the treatment of osteoarthritis. Chris is involved in teaching both ‘Health Economics’ and ‘Economic Evaluation’, and supervision of PhD and Master students. In consultancy (KPMG), Chris leads a team of health economists providing economic evaluation and modelling to a range of government and industry clients. His work has influenced key public policy debates around obesity, mental health, low-value care and e-cigarettes.
Research publications
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIPS
Excellence in Doctoral Research, University of Melbourne, 2018
Postgraduate scholarship, National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) 2015-2017
Best Paper, Australian Health Economics Society Doctoral Workshop 2015
Best Sessional Presentation, University of Melbourne School of Population and Global Health PhD Workshop 2015
OTHER KEY ROLES
KPMG Economics: Associate Director
Veronique Price
OUR PEOPLE
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Behavioural intervention
- Osteoarthritis
- Pain-related fear
Dr JP Caneiro
PhD, BPhysio
Dr JP Caneiro is a Specialist Sports Physiotherapist (as awarded by the Australian College of Physiotherapists in 2013) and a PhD in Musculoskeletal Physiotherapy. JP is a researcher at Curtin University, where he also lectures in the Clinical Masters in Physiotherapy. He has published several research papers and presented his work internationally.
Dr JP Caneiro consults three days per week at Body Logic where he reviews complex musculoskeletal pain disorders, in special lower back and knee pain. JP provides mentoring to the clinical staff to ensure the highest level of clinical care is provided within the practice.
OTHER KEY ROLES
Curtin University: Research Fellow
Body Logic Physiotherapy Perth: Specialist Physiotherapist
Pain Ed: Educator
British Journal of Sports Medicine: Associate Editor