Siobhan Schabrun PhD

Siobhan Schabrun, PhD, trained as a physiotherapist before completing a PhD in neuroscience at The University of Adelaide in 2009. Supported by a NHMRC Early Career Fellowship, she undertook post-doctoral training in pain neuroscience at The University of Queensland. In 2014, she received a Fulbright scholarship to further her interest in the neuroplasticity of pain in the USA and was awarded a QLD Young Tall Poppy Science Award. In 2018 she moved to NeuRA where she leads a program of research that seeks to understand why some people recover after an episode of musculoskeletal pain while others develop long-lasting, disabling pain. Research interests include the discovery of biomarkers that can predict who will develop chronic pain – even before pain begins, investigation of the neurobiological mechanisms that underpin the transition from acute to chronic pain and the development and testing of non-invasive brain stimulation treatments for chronic pain. She is also passionate about improving the translation of research evidence into clinical practice. Siobhan is deputy lead of the low back pain working group of the SPHERE musculoskeletal clinical academic group, a nominated member of the Global Young Academy and is one of the inaugural Superstars of STEM.