Rate My Professor Prasath Jayakaran

Dr. Prasath Jayakaran serves as Senior Lecturer and Associate Dean (Undergraduate Studies) in the School of Physiotherapy within the University of Otago's Faculty of Health Professional Programmes, Division of Health Sciences. A qualified physiotherapist from India, he obtained his Bachelor of Physiotherapy from Tamil Nadu Medical University in Chennai and Master of Physiotherapy in Sports Physiotherapy from Hamdard University in New Delhi. His clinical career began at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, where he managed a high volume of patients, including those with limb amputations, sparking his interest in balance and motor control rehabilitation. In 2008, he commenced his PhD at the University of Otago's School of Physiotherapy, completing it in 2012 with a thesis titled "An investigation of dynamic balance and postural control in persons with below-knee amputation due to a dysvascular condition." Subsequent postdoctoral fellowships at Brunel University London (2013-2014) and the University of Otago (2014-2016) honed his expertise before his appointment as Lecturer in 2017, progressing to Senior Lecturer.

Dr. Jayakaran's research program centers on balance, postural control, gait, and motor control across the lifespan, with emphasis on populations including people with Parkinson's disease, lower-limb amputees, ageing adults, and children with strabismus. He leads the Balance and Vestibular research facility at the School of Physiotherapy and the community-based Balance Wise weekly exercise class for individuals with Parkinson's, partnering with organizations such as Parkinson’s New Zealand and Age Concern. His work employs mixed qualitative and quantitative methods to develop evidence-based interventions enhancing functional movement and quality of life. In 2019, he received the Health Research Council of New Zealand Emerging Researcher First Grant for his project on sensory organisation for balance control in children with strabismus. Key publications include "Relationships between physical activities performed under free-living conditions and non-motor symptoms in people with Parkinson's: A systematic review and meta-analysis" (Clinical Rehabilitation, 2024, co-authored), "Perceptions of people with Parkinson's on non-motor symptoms and functional ability" (New Zealand Journal of Physiotherapy, 2024), and "Sensitivity to movement-evoked pain, central sensitivity symptoms, and pro-nociceptive profiles in people with chronic shoulder pain" (Pain Practice, 2023). With over 760 citations on Google Scholar, his contributions influence physiotherapy practice in fall prevention, rehabilitation, and neurophysiology. Additionally, he supervises postgraduate students, teaches research methods, serves as co-director of the Tū Ora Otago Falls Network, and reviews for journals like Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.