A/Prof Liisa Laakso

Associate Professor Liisa Laakso is a Senior Research Fellow, Allied Health. Liisa was previously a Senior Physiotherapist for the Royal Brisbane and Royal Women’s Hospital Health Services District and a conjoint Lecturer in the Department of Physiotherapy, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland.

Liisa's research interests include investigating pain and symptom management for rehabilitation, recovery and management of chronic disease and in particular cancer and neurodegenerative conditions. She similarly investigates the role of health technologies, specifically laser therapy and physical activity in symptom control and recovery after cancer, and in palliative care.

Liisa has a track record of grants procurement and publications in these fields as well as in physiotherapy education. She has spoken at numerous national and international conferences on her laser research. Liisa has a keen interest in developing models of clinical care that are efficient and effective for improving quality of care.

Liisa is an executive committee member of the Australian Medical Laser Association (AMLA), and past-President of the World Association for Laser Therapy (WALT). She is Vice-President of the International Society for Electrophysical Agents in Physical Therapy (an official sub-group of the World Confederation of Physical Therapy). She is also on the editorial board of the journal Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, and the Brazilian Journal of Physical Therapy.

“I became interested as a physiotherapy student, in investigating the value of electrophysical agents (such as laser) as a means of addressing movement disorders. I have been fortunate to work with a range of national and international colleagues investigating how physiotherapists can contribute to some of the most vexing health problems. The excitement of answering a clinical question through research has never left me, and I enjoy guiding others in their journey towards developing that same excitement.”