ARCH staff at Northern Health

Discover the Northern Health ARCH.

ARCH Director - Northern Health

Dr Adam Semciw is an Associate Professor, physiotherapist and allied health researcher at Northern Health and La Trobe University. He specialises in the investigation of muscle function in health, injury and rehabilitation. Dr Adam Semciw is a Physiotherapist, Epidemiologist and Associate Professor at La Trobe University and Northern Health. His research interests include health services research, with a particular focus on musculoskeletal conditions, osteoarthritis and orthopaedics. Dr Semciw holds a conjoint research position with Northern Health, the fastest growing health service in Victoria. This provides him with an opportunity to support and mentor clinician-researchers on clinician-led research projects including clinical trials, epidemiological studies and evaluations of new models of care. He is currently completing a Graduate Diploma in Biostatistics (expected completion- 2024) and enjoys working with clinicians on large, real-world data in order to optimise the delivery of care in a busy health service.

Image: Dr Adam Semciw

Research group

Dr Rebecca Jessup is the allied health research lead at Northern Health who has a clinical background in podiatry. Her research focuses on improving health communication to improve health outcomes, and alternative models of care to improve health system sustainability. Dr Jessup works with allied health clinicians to build research capacity at Northern Health.

Dr Hazel Heng has been a Physiotherapist at Northern Health since 2015. Hazel completed her PhD in “Reducing falls in hospitals with patient education” at La Trobe University where she conducted research on patient falls education. Throughout this PhD, Hazel worked closely with a team of researchers, clinicians, and consumers from different backgrounds, allowing her to develop co-design, qualitative and collaborative research skills. Hazel's research has had significant impact; she conducted a scoping review of current evidence surrounding patient education on falls which has since garnered over 40 citations and has been included in the most recent world guidelines for falls prevention. She has a passion for supporting clinical research

Dr Stephen Quick has been a part of the Northern Health team since 2016, having worked as part of the inpatient physiotherapy team at Bundoora Centre, as well as spending time as part of the Transition Care Team. He completed the Northern Health Stepping Into Research Program in 2017, which ignited his passion of research and improving service delivery. In early 2020, Stephen commenced his PhD studies full time in the area of Physiotherapy and the care of people living with dementia. Stephen's current research is focused on the knowledge, confidence, attitudes and beliefs of physiotherapists and physiotherapy students in working with people living with dementia and the current dementia education landscape. His findings have direct clinical applications to the interdisciplinary team. He is keen to assist all allied health staff in conducting research with the potential to improve clinical outcomes for the community.

Lin Tong (PhD Candidate): Osteoarthritis (OA) is a chronic condition affecting ageing Australians. Current clinical guidelines recommend non-surgical treatment options such as education, exercise and weight management for people with OA. However, many people on the surgical waitlist lack the opportunity to access such information, contributing to anxiety and distress. The Northern Health Musculoskeletal Wellness Team have built an incredible web-based resource that is supporting Northern Health patients who find themselves waiting for orthopaedic review. Lin’s PhD will aim to evaluate the outcomes of this model of care.

Contact

For enquiries please contact:

Dr Adam Semciw
Department of Physiotherapy, Podiatry and Prosthetics and Orthotics
School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport 
La Trobe University, Victoria, 3086, Australia
E: A.Semciw@latrobe.edu.au