Author: Barbara Lucas

Barbara is Deputy Manager of Physiotherapy Services at Royal North Shore Hospital (RNSH). She is a Specialist Paediatric Physiotherapist with the Australian College of Physiotherapists and has more than 18 years clinical experience. She has a Masters in Public Health and an interest in public and international health, and previously worked in Tanzania in 2006. She is currently the Paediatric representative for the Board of Censors, Australian College of Physiotherapists and the Allied Health representative on the Northern Sydney Local Health District (NSLHD) Research and Innovations Subcommittee. She was seconded in 2011 to work with the Lililwan Project – the first case ascertainment study in Australia investigating the prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in communities in the Kimberley, WA. Barbara is now back at RNSH completing a PhD connected to this work in collaboration with the community of Fitzroy Crossing; the Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, The University of Sydney; and the George Institute for Global Health. Her work is being funded by a scholarship from the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health, Sydney Medical School, The University of Sydney. Her research is investigating the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on gross motor skills to support improved health outcomes for Aboriginal children.