RECOVER congratulates Professor Michele Sterling, who was recognised as the top researcher in the field of Pain and Pain Management in the prestigious Top 250 Researchers in 2026 list compiled by The Australian’s 2026 Research Magazine.
Professor Sterling leads the Improving health outcomes after musculoskeletal injury research program at RECOVER and serves as Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury. She is internationally recognised for her work on whiplash-associated disorders and has made significant contributions to understanding and improving outcomes for people living with pain.
The Top 250 Researchers list, published in The Australian’s 2026 Research magazine, identifies Australia’s leading researchers across 250 fields based on robust bibliometric analysis. The rankings are generated by analysing citation impact focused on publications in the top 20 journals in each field over the past five years. This methodology balances research quality, influence and productivity to highlight Australia’s top research performers.
Each year, The Australian collaborates with research analytics firm League of Scholars to map research impact and showcase excellence across disciplines. The list not only recognises individual achievements like Professor Sterling’s but also highlights institutional strengths and emerging research trends nationally.
For details on the full list of Australia’s Top 250 researchers and the methodology behind the rankings, see The Australian’s 2026 Research magazine.
