Dr Katia Ferrar

Dr Katia Ferrar is a lecturer and researcher (Level B) in the School of Health Sciences.

Before joining the university, Dr Ferrar worked as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist both in the United Kingdom and Australia, and managed her own physiotherapy practice for 7 years. She continues to translate her professional skill and knowledge in her role as clinical educator for undergraduate physiotherapy students. Dr Ferrar teaches into both the Physiotherapy and Human Movement programs, and is course developer and coordinator of the recent (2015) Foundations of Physical Activity and Health course offered to first year Human Movement undergraduate students. Dr ferrar has also developed one of the first courses to be offered as part of the wholly online degrees via UniSA Online, Foundations of Health and Physical Activity.

An emerging independent early career researcher, Dr Ferrar has published 23 peer-reviewed articles and has won more than AU$80 thousand in research funding to date. Her research focuses on physical activity and chronic health conditions such as chronic low back pain, cardiac conditions and chronic fatigue syndrome. She has been recognised for her ability to communicate science to the general public with the 2013 Women’s and Children Young Investigator Award (People’s Choice).

More recently, Dr Ferrar was successful in securing philanthropic funding (Mason Foundation) to investigate the role of active video games in the promotion of physical activity in people with chronic fatigue syndrome, and to investigate the role of the allostatic load.

Dr Ferrar has also been successful in securing over AU$70 thousand Federal New Colombo Funding to lead inter-disciplinary cultural immersion trips to developing countries; facilitating the development of University of South Australia Health Science students as global citizens.  

Dr Ferrar was awarded and named as an AMP Tommorow Maker in 2016 in acknowledgement of her partnetership with The Salvation Army in Adelaide to open a pro bono student-led physiothrapy and podiatry clinic. The clinic, the Open Door Health Clinic, opened in May 2017.

Qualifications

• Doctor of Philosophy University of South Australia

• Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy) University of South Australia

• Bachelor of Health Science (Honours) University of South Australia