As a clinician-scientist and physiotherapy researcher, I have specialised in the identification of modifiable risk factors that influence musculoskeletal injury and lifestyle-related disease. I am particularly interested in:

• understanding how negative health outcomes (e.g. reduced physical activity, increased adiposity and sedentary lifestyles) are associated with injury and/or disease states including obesity, and osteoarthritis.
• using implementation science to improve equitable access to evidence-based treatments (exercise and education) for people with chronic joint pain, in particular hip and knee osteoarthritis.
• using participatory health research methods to involve key stakeholders in every step of the research process to improve outcomes and achieve impact.

Dr Clodagh Toomey is a Physiotherapist and Research Fellow at the School of Allied Health, University of Limerick. Clodagh completed her PhD at the University of Limerick in 2014 and a Postdoctoral Fellowship in 2017 at the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre, University of Calgary, where she also holds an adjunct position. Her clinical and research experience has focused on prevention and management of musculoskeletal disease across the lifespan. Most recently, she was a recipient of a Health Research Board (HRB) Emerging Investigator Award which is investigating how to optimise implementation of clinical guidelines for osteoarthritis in practice. This will take a participatory health research approach to forming implementation strategies that will ensure exercise and education are first line treatment options for patients with hip and knee osteoarthritis in the Irish healthcare system.  Clodagh is the research lead on the Good Living with osteoArthritis Denmark (GLA:D®) initiative in Ireland. At the University of Limerick, she is a member of the Health Research Institute (Ageing Research Centre, Health Implementation Science and Technology Cluster and Physical Activity for Health Cluster) and the Participatory Health Research / Public and Patient Involvement Research Unit.