Dr Rodrigo Rizzo is a Medical Research Future Funding (MRFF) Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and the School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW). Dr Rizzo is a physiotherapist with extensive clinical experience managing people with chronic pain. 

In his PhD, he summarised the effects of interventions for low back pain and explored new treatment targets to improve the management of low back pain. Dr Rizzo's research has substantially impacted the management of low back pain. His systematic review of medicines targeting neurotrophic factors supported pharmaceutical regulatory agencies (FDA, European Medicines Agency) to reject commercialising these medicines for people with chronic pain due to limited efficacy and potentially severe adverse effects. He conducted Cochrane overviews providing accessible and high-quality summaries of treatments for low back pain to facilitate treatment decision-making. 

Dr Rizzo has conducted randomised controlled trials and undertaken process evaluations (e.g., mediation analysis and qualitative analysis) of brain-targeted interventions for chronic low back pain. He pioneered combining hypnotic suggestions with pain education for back pain management. Dr Rizzo's innovative approach has been applied in several allied health teams to manage chronic pain, including Brazil's unified health system, Prince of Wales Hospital, St. George's Hospital, and St. Vincent's Hospital in Australia. Dr Rizzo's work has informed the development and implementation of a prescribable digital health intervention in primary care funded by the MRFF 2021 Primary Health Care Digital Innovations.