Hale, Leigh

Professor Leigh Hale is the Dean of the School of Physiotherapy / Centre for Health, Activity, and Rehabilitation Research at the University of Otago, New Zealand and the Editor of the New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy. She graduated as a physiotherapist from the University of Cape Town (South Africa) and went on to attain her MSc (Neurorehabilitation) and PhD from the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa). Prof Hale worked as clinical physiotherapist in all areas of physiotherapy before pursuing an academic career. After teaching neurorehabilitation at the Department of Physiotherapy at Wits for ten years, she moved to the University of Otago in 2000. Professor Hale primarily researches in the areas of falls prevention for older adults and adults with intellectual disability and community-based physiotherapeutic rehabilitation for people living with disability and with neurological conditions (such as multiple sclerosis, stroke, Parkinson’s disease) and focusses on how physiotherapists can enable people to optimally live healthy and engaging lives. She has attained over NZ$ 6 million in grant funding, published 110 peer reviewed publications and four book chapters, and has presented at international conferences, including WCPT,  American Physical Therapy CSM, ECTRIMS and the IASSIDD World Congress.