Ilana Ackerman

Ilana Ackerman is a Research Professor in the School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at Monash University, and Deputy Director of the Musculoskeletal Health Unit. She holds adjunct roles at La Trobe University and serves on international editorial boards for journals like Journal of Patient-Reported Outcomes and Journal of Physiotherapy. Her research focuses on musculoskeletal epidemiology, osteoarthritis burden projections, and patient-reported outcomes in joint replacement surgery.

Dr. Ackerman earned a Doctor of Philosophy (2006) and a Bachelor of Physiotherapy (Honours) (1996) from the University of Melbourne. She has received prestigious fellowships, including the NHMRC Public Health Early Career Fellowship and a Victorian Health and Medical Research Fellowship.

Her work emphasizes osteoarthritis clinical care standards, including contributions to the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care’s Osteoarthritis of the Knee Clinical Care Standards and the Victorian Model of Care for Osteoarthritis. She co-chairs the International Society of Arthroplasty Registries’ Patient-Reported Outcomes Working Group and advises the Australian Orthopaedic Association National Joint Replacement Registry.

Recent research highlights include projecting arthritis burden trends in Australia, evaluating exercise therapy programs, and analyzing VTE prophylaxis efficacy post-arthroplasty. Her 15+ awards recognize contributions to musculoskeletal epidemiology and clinical research training.

Active in over 25 research projects, she collaborates globally on initiatives like the HERknee CRE to prevent knee injury and osteoarthritis burden. Grants include NHMRC, HCF Research Foundation, and Arthritis Australia funding. She is dedicated to training clinical researchers and fostering clinician engagement to improve arthritis care quality.