RECOVER Injury Research Centre congratulates Professor Michele Sterling, who has been awarded an NHMRC Investigator Grant (Leadership Level 3) to continue her research into preventing chronic pain after road traffic injury. The grant, worth $3,035,320, will run from 2028 to 2032 and support her research program on Advancing treatment for road traffic injury: from trials to implementation.
Professor Sterling is Program Leader, Improving Health Outcomes after Musculoskeletal Injury, at RECOVER Injury Research Centre, an NHMRC Leadership Fellow (Level 2), and Director of the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Better Health Outcomes for Compensable Injury.
A musculoskeletal physiotherapist by background, Michele is internationally recognised for her research into whiplash-associated disorders and the mechanisms underlying chronic pain after injury.
"Chronic pain is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and 30% of cases are caused by a road traffic injury," Professor Sterling said.
"My research has shown these injuries to be complex, involving interacting mechanisms in the nervous system and psychological factors.
“There’s a shift globally in how researchers approach these injuries; we’ve gone from viewing them as simple soft-tissue injuries, to investigating the underlying mechanisms and targeted treatments.
"The guideline-recommended treatments of advice and exercise still largely fail to address the complexity of these injuries," Professor Sterling said.
Over the next five years, the grant will support Professor Sterling to test early, targeted treatments to prevent chronic pain and to implement and evaluate new models of care within health and compensation systems.
As Professor Sterling puts it, the goal is simple: to improve the lives of injured people.
Announcing this year's Investigator Grants round, NHMRC CEO Professor Steve Wesselingh said the calibre of funded researchers was extraordinary.
"These are scientists who are not just asking important questions – they're developing answers that will genuinely transform how we understand, prevent, diagnose and treat disease," he said.
Professor Wesselingh added that the scheme's strength lies in the flexibility it offers.
"Rather than being locked to a narrow project scope, our funded investigators can follow the science – pivoting when new discoveries emerge, building collaborations, and pursuing ambitious research that produces real breakthroughs."
RECOVER thanks Professor Sterling for her continued contribution to the centre, and looks forward to the outcomes this research will bring for people recovering from road traffic injury, in Australia and internationally.
