Jackie Whittaker, PhD

Dr. Whittaker’s research focuses on preventing chronic musculoskeletal conditions, with a particular emphasis on knee osteoarthritis resulting from youth traumatic sports-related injuries. Her work aims to improve patient outcomes through; 1) understanding the consequences of youth sport-related knee injuries, 2) optimizing healthcare pathways for youth that suffer a knee injury, 3) developing and evaluating interventions to reduce the risk of osteoarthritis after knee injury and, 4) optimizing function in persons that develop knee osteoarthritis pre-maturely as a result of an injury. A further interest is the application of diagnostic imaging in the management of musculoskeletal conditions.

Dr. Whittaker's research has direct implications for the clinical management of individuals with sport-related knee injuries and has included the identification of common factors that mediate knee injury as well as the onset and progression of post-traumatic osteoarthritis. Central to her work is an integrated knowledge translation approach, involving patients and health professionals throughout the research-to-practice continuum.