Rate My Professor Meg Harrold

Dr. Meg Harrold is a Senior Lecturer in the Curtin School of Allied Health within the Faculty of Health Sciences at Curtin University, Perth, Australia, where she also serves as Director of Student Experience. She holds a BSc in Physiotherapy and a PhD. With over 15 years as a Senior Lecturer, Harrold brings her expertise as a physiotherapist to her teaching and research roles. Her academic career has focused on advancing physiotherapy practices in critical care environments, including intensive care units (ICUs).

Harrold's research interests center on early mobilization and rehabilitation for critically ill patients, particularly those receiving mechanical ventilation. She has contributed to major international and bi-national studies, including the TEAM trial, resulting in the publication 'Early Active Mobilization during Mechanical Ventilation in the ICU' in the New England Journal of Medicine (2023). Other significant works include 'Scapular dyskinesis increases the risk of future shoulder pain by 43% in asymptomatic athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis' in the British Journal of Sports Medicine (2018); 'The ICU Mobility Scale Has Construct and Predictive Validity and Is Responsive: A Multicenter Observational Study' in Annals of the American Thoracic Society (2016); 'Approaches and adjuncts used by physiotherapists when suctioning adult patients who are intubated and ventilated in intensive care units in Australia and New Zealand: A cross-sectional survey' in Australian Critical Care (2017); and 'Expert consensus and recommendations on safety criteria for active mobilization of mechanically ventilated critically ill adults' (2014). She has also investigated ICU mobility practices across Australia, New Zealand, and Scotland, and exercise training for COPD exacerbations. Harrold has secured National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) funding and received the Mentorship Award from the Royal Perth Hospital Research Foundation Awards in 2024. As a supervisor of higher degree by research students and an invited speaker at events like the 2025 WAVE Conference, her work influences clinical guidelines, patient outcomes in critical care, and physiotherapy education.