Joanne George

Dr. Joanne George is an Advanced Research Physiotherapist, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, and Senior Lecturer affiliated with the Child Health Research Centre and the Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre at the University of Queensland. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Physiotherapy from the University of Cape Town and a Doctor of Philosophy in Paediatrics from the University of Queensland. Throughout her career at UQ, she has concentrated on paediatric neurodevelopment, leading key research initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for preterm infants and those at risk of cerebral palsy.

George's research specializations encompass early detection of cerebral palsy, prediction of motor and cognitive outcomes using neonatal MRI and clinical biomarkers, and implementation of early intervention strategies. She is Chief Investigator on the NHMRC-funded PREBO-6 study (2019-2026), which examines brain outcomes in preterm infants. Additional grants include those from The Children's Hospital Foundation (2020-2021, 2019) and Cerebral Palsy Alliance (2014-2016). She spearheads the Queensland Early Detection and Intervention Network (QEDIN), having trained over 200 clinicians in Hammersmith Infant Neurological Examination (HINE) assessments across Queensland. Her scholarly impact is evidenced by 40 works listed on UQ eSpace and 597 citations on Google Scholar. Notable publications include 'Early detection of cerebral palsy through context-driven implementation in low- and middle-income countries: From impossible to achievable' (Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 2026), 'Diagnostic accuracy of neonatal structural MRI scores to predict 6-year motor outcomes of children born very preterm' (NeuroImage: Clinical, 2024), 'The Knowledge Translation of Early Cerebral Palsy (KiTE CP) Study: Implementing screening among a high-risk prospective cohort of Australian infants' (The Journal of Pediatrics, 2024), and 'Brain MRI before and at term equivalent age predicts motor and cognitive outcomes in very preterm infants' (NeuroImage: Reports, 2025). George has received the Promising Career Award from the Australasian Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine (2018) and two prestige awards at the Perinatal Society of Australia and New Zealand conference (2019). She supervises doctoral students on neonatal MRI markers for long-term motor outcomes.

Professional Email: j.george2@uq.edu.au