Helen Dawes
Helen Dawes, Elizabeth Casson Trust Chair, leads the Movement Science Group based in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes University. Helen initially trained and practiced as a physiotherapist specializing in sport physiotherapy and working in the UK and New Zealand, prior to undertaking postgraduate training in exercise science and neuroscience. Helen then embarked on a PhD exploring exercise for people with neurological conditions. She has since then focused on optimizing performance of everyday activities through rehabilitation and on enabling physically active lifestyles in adults and children with disorders affecting movement such as: stroke, Parkinson's, cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis. Her research requires cross-disciplinary collaborations. In order to ensure that the research addresses important issues affecting people’s lives, all research activities are guided and monitored by User Steering Groups (adult and children). Her activities include research, teaching and the provision of a Clinical Exercise and Rehabilitation in the community. Her research spans from exploring underlying mechanisms affecting performance through to service delivery of subsequently developed interventions and tools.
