Kylie Tucker

Professor Kylie Tucker is a distinguished academic at the University of Queensland, serving as Professor and School Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Biomedical Sciences within the Faculty of Health, Medicine and Behavioural Sciences. She is also an Affiliate of the Centre for Innovation in Pain and Health Research (CIPHeR) and currently serves as President of the International Society of Electrophysiology and Kinesiology (ISEK) for the term 2024-2026. Professor Tucker leads a dynamic research environment focused on advancing knowledge about muscles and movement control, with significant contributions to understanding how pain impacts movement, methods for estimating muscle forces, and assessment of childhood movement control and adolescent skeletal maturity.

Professor Tucker earned her Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, and Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Adelaide. Her academic journey has positioned her as a leader in neuromuscular research, particularly in the areas of motor control and pain adaptation. Within the School of Biomedical Sciences, she has held significant leadership roles including Deputy Director of Teaching and Learning (2018-2020), inaugural chair of the REMEDE committee (2021-2023), and Director of Teaching and Learning (2024-2025). She also co-facilitates UQ's flagship Career Progression for Women program.

Her research interests span motor control, pain research, biomechanics, electromyography, neuromuscular control, pediatric movement, scoliosis, and muscle physiology. Professor Tucker's work has transformed understanding of pain's impact on movement and advanced assessment methods for childhood movement control and skeletal maturity. She has recently proposed new insights into scoliosis progression, identifying unique muscle features that can be non-invasively detected early in curve progression. Approximately 3-7% of children worldwide develop adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, often requiring surgical intervention when conservative treatments fail.

Analysis of Professor Tucker's recent publications reveals a strong focus on neuromuscular control mechanisms, particularly in relation to pain, scoliosis, and pediatric movement disorders. Her work integrates advanced methodologies including electromyography, shear wave elastography, and biomechanical modeling to investigate muscle function across diverse populations. A notable trend is her leadership in consensus projects (CEDE) establishing standardized methodologies for electromyography research, reflecting her commitment to methodological rigor in the field.

Professor Tucker actively mentors the next generation of researchers, supervising numerous PhD students across projects related to scoliosis, knee osteoarthritis, pain research, and pediatric movement disorders. Her research is supported by significant funding including NHMRC MRFF EPCDR grants for chronic musculoskeletal conditions in children and the SRS Research Grant for novel insights into adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

She leads the Motor Control and Pain Research Lab, a collaborative environment bringing together basic science and clinical researchers. The lab focuses on two main research streams: Motor Control and Pain Research and Child and Adolescent Neuromotor Control Research. Professor Tucker teaches across 10 UQ programs with class sizes ranging from 70-1400 students, demonstrating her commitment to education alongside her research leadership.