Rate My Professor Cassandra Zaina

Dr Cassandra Zaina serves as Director of Health and Medical Innovation at Adelaide University. She earned her Bachelor of Applied Science in Physiotherapy in 1990 and Master of Applied Science in Manipulative Physiotherapy in 1998, both from the University of South Australia. A Fellow of the Australian College of Physiotherapists (FACP) since 2010 in Occupational Health Physiotherapy and dual-titled in Musculoskeletal and Pain Physiotherapy, she also holds a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD) qualification and a Certificate in Acupuncture from the Acupuncture Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in London. With over 35 years of clinical experience across Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom, she has founded and led physiotherapy practices including The Wellness Hub SA, HandsUp For Health! Pty Ltd, Prevent, and Bodymind Physiotherapy. Currently, she is Physiotherapy Advisor at ReturnToWorkSA and Adjunct Lecturer at the University of South Australia, where she previously served as Invited Lecturer and Clinical Educator in the School of Physiotherapy.

Dr Zaina holds key leadership roles including National Chair of the Acupuncture and Dry Needling Group and Chair of the South Australian Occupational Health Physiotherapy Committee at the Australian Physiotherapy Association. She contributes to the Expert Guideline Development Group for New Clinical Guidelines at the University of Adelaide and is Co-President of Women in Innovation, overseeing the Fearless Innovator Grant Program. Her research interests encompass occupational health, pain management, and injury prevention, reflected in co-authorship of publications such as 'Expert consensus and perspectives on recovery following road traffic crashes: a Delphi study' (Smits et al., 2022) and 'Developing consensus on the most important equity-relevant items to include in pain research' (Karran et al., 2025). She has delivered webinars, conference presentations, and media segments on topics including low back pain prevention, tech neck, and healthy aging with movement. Notable awards include Telstra Business Women’s Award South Australian Finalist in the Entrepreneurs Category (2010), Australian Physiotherapy Association Recognition of Service Award (2009), and SA Women in Business Grant recipient (2024).