Claire Boswell-Ruys (BSc, BAppSci (Physio) Hons I, PhD) has worked in the area of spinal cord injuries for the past 20 years. She is a trained physiotherapist and completed her PhD in 2010 at the University of New South Wales. Claire’s PhD developed tools to assess sitting ability and concern about falling in people with a spinal cord injury (SCI); this Falls Concern Scale (FCS) has been translated into 9 different languages (SCI-FCS). Further, she investigated the effect of specific rehabilitation techniques on sitting ability in SCI.

Claire’s research within the spinal cord injury field has included multiple clinical trials to improve health outcomes. She has investigated the effectiveness of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) for respiratory function, breathlessness and quality of life; functional electrical stimulation for cough and respiratory function; probiotics for the prevention of urinary tract infections and bowel function; and neurostimualtion techniques to enhance muscle strength.

Claire currently works part time as a Research Fellow at the Spinal Cord Injuries Research Centre (SCIRC) based at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and as a Physiotherapist at Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick. Claire’s current projects investigate the effect of transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation on walking ability, acute intermittent hypoxia on muscle strength and function, and IMT on respiratory function in people with SCI. The research team at SCRIC welcome interest in student research projects and collaboration with fellow scientists.