Professor James McAuley is a psychologist in the School of Health Sciences. He completed his PhD at Brunel University UK in 2002 and took a post-doctoral position at the University of Sydney in 2004 and then a senior post-doctoral position at the George Institute for Global Health in 2008. He moved to NeuRA in 2010 and established the Centre for Pain IMPACT and was appointed to the department of Exercise Physiology, School of Medical Sciences...view more
Professor James McAuley is a psychologist in the School of Health Sciences. He completed his PhD at Brunel University UK in 2002 and took a post-doctoral position at the University of Sydney in 2004 and then a senior post-doctoral position at the George Institute for Global Health in 2008. He moved to NeuRA in 2010 and established the Centre for Pain IMPACT and was appointed to the department of Exercise Physiology, School of Medical Sciences in 2017.
James’ research combines experimental, clinical and translational methods to develop and test new interventions to manage low back pain. James has published >200 articles and holds over >$10M in research funding. He is regularly invited to give talks at conferences and scientific meetings. James has supervised 18 PhD students and mentored 4 postdocs.
James is the chair of the back pain group of SPHERE MSK and is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group (SAG) for the Australian and New Zealand Musculoskeletal Clinical Trials Network (ANZMUSC). In 2015 James founded the NSW network for pain PhD students/ECRs (SPRiNG). James has supervised 18 PhD students and mentored 4 postdocs.
My Grants
NHMRC:
- McAuley JH, Gustin S. NHMRC Project Grant 2019-2023. $2,309,382
- McAuley JH. MRFF – Rare Cancers, Rare Diseases and Unmet Need Initiative. $992,314
- McAuley JH, Moseley GL, Maher CM, Goodall S, Stanton T, Wand BM. NHMRC Project Grant 2014-2019. $970,000
- Schabrun S, McAuley JH, Graven-Nielsen T, Nicholas MN, Henschke N, Khan A. NHMRC Project Grant 2014-2018. $814,825
- McAuley JH, Nicholas MK, Moseley GL, Henschke N, Refshauge K. NHMRC Project Grant 2013-2016. $509,00
- Moseley GL, McAuley JH. NHMRC Project Grant 2011-2015 - $595,392
Other:
- McAuley JH. Mindgardens Neuroscience Network/MNN Commonwealth Funded Research Projects. $300,000
- McAuley JH and STREAM Health collaborators. 2017-2020 $120,000
- Lee H, McAuley JH, Herbert RD, Kamper SJ, Henschke N, Williams CM. UC Berkeley Initiative for Transparency in the Social Sciences (BITSS). $28,300
- Williams CM, McAuley JH, Wiggers J. Coal Services Health and Safety Trust 2016. $102,000
- McAuley JH, Costa L, Costa L, Maher C. The University of Sydney International Project Development Fund (IPDF) 2009. $20,000
- McAuley JH. Faculty of Medicine Early Career/New Staff Award 2008. $60,000
- McAuley JH, Maher CG, Refshauge KM. Cumberland Research Grant 2007. $17,000
My Awards
- 2018 SoMS Researcher of the Year award
- 2020 Inducted into the SoMS Century Club
My Research Activities
My Research Supervision
Supervision keywords
Areas of supervision
James' research is focused on low back pain, a major global health problem and the leading cause of disability worldwide. The burden of low back pain is rising more rapidly than for any other health condition. In Australia costs management and work loss are projected to increase by 60% over the next 10yrs.
My research program is focused on developing and testing new approaches to manage low back pain. These approaches are informed by findings from neuroscience research and clinical research on psychological and physical activity contributions chronic pain. My vision for my research program is to develop, test and implement in clinical practice new effective treatment approaches to reduce the burden of low back pain.
Currently supervising
- Matt Bagg (2016 –) RTP and Deans award for top ranked application
- Aidan Cashin (2017 –) POWCS scholarship
- Edel O’Hagan (2017 –) RTP scholarship
- Rodrigo Rizzo (2019 –) International TFP scholarship
- Michael Wewege (2019 –) UPA scholarship, NHMRC postgraduate scholarship, SoMS Top-Up scholarship
- Michael Ferraro (2021 –) RTP scholarship
My Engagement
Radio
Television
Print and Digital Articles
- 1 April 2021: Jo Hartley, The Australian Women’s Weekly. Easing a chronic problem (https://twitter.com/SylviaGustin2/status/1379800400568610818?s=20)
- 22 January 2020: Caroline Zielinski, The Sydney Morning Herald. Hypnosis for anxiety? ‘Doable’ if you have an open mind (https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/hypnosis-for-anxiety-doable-if-you-have-an-open-mind-20200120-p53t3g.html)
- 10 December 2019: Kate Aubusson, The Sydney Morning Herald. One-stop-shop: service treats mental illness, neurological, and addiction as 'brain disorders' (https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-stop-shop-service-treats-mental-illness-neurological-and-addiction-as-brain-disorders-20191209-p53i9j.html)
- 9 January 2019: Daniel Kolitz, GizModo. What's the worst pain? (https://www.gizmodo.com.au/2019/01/whats-the-worst-pain/)
- 23 December 2018: Liam Mannix, The Sydney Morning Herald. The 'mythbusters' of back pain believe they can treat it - with words (https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-mythbusters-of-back-pain-believe-they-can-treat-it-with-words-20181217-p50msa.html)
- 9 November 2018: Retail Pharmacy Magazine. Back pain treatment challenged (https://retailpharmacymagazine.com.au/back-pain-treatment-challenged/)
- 7 November 2018: Health Times. Researchers challenge guidelines for treating acute low back pain (https://healthtimes.com.au/hub/pain-management/44/news/nc1/researchers-challenge-guidelines-for-treating-acute-low-back-pain/3721/)
- 12 October 2018: James Hutton, The Beast Magazine. Local bloke – James McAuley from Randwick (https://thebeast.com.au/people/local-bloke-james-mcauley-randwick/)
- 1 October 2018: NeuRA HEADS at Work. How does chronic back pain affect mental wellness? (https://talks.neura.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Mental-Wellness-in-the-workplace.pdf)
- 30 September 2018: Liam Mannix, The Sydney Morning Herald. A difficult position: Experts question whether ergonomics holds up (https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/a-difficult-position-experts-question-whether-ergonomics-holds-up-20180910-p502w5.html)
- 23 May 2018: Senior Australian News and Research. Hypnosis transforms treatment for low back pain (http://www.seniorau.com.au/7981-hypnosis-transforms-treatment-for-low-back-pain)
- 16 May 2018: NeuRA Media Release. Hypnosis transforming chronic pain treatment (https://www.neura.edu.au/news/hypnosis-transforming-chronic-pain-treatment/)
- 10 August 2017: Newcastle Star. Landmark long-term study shows opioids no good for back pain (https://www.newcastleherald.com.au/story/4846032/landmark-long-term-study-shows-opioids-no-good-for-back-pain/?cs=24)
- 1 September 2015: NeuRA Magazine, Spring Issue 14. It’s time to see the back of pain (https://www.neura.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/NeuRA-Magazine-Issue-14-Spring-2015.pdf)
- 21 March 2014: Ara Sarafian, The Conversation. It’s harder to fake a sickie if the doctor’s a machine (https://theconversation.com/its-harder-to-fake-a-sickie-if-the-doctors-a-machine-24631) (https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/its-harder-to-fake-a-sickie-if-the-doctors-a-machine/3LRDT2HBZSKJFI7AFESB4EQJXA/)
- 26 February 2014: Ara Sarafian, The Conversation. Phantom menace: augmented reality eases missing limb pain (https://theconversation.com/phantom-menace-augmented-reality-eases-missing-limb-pain-23479)
- September 2012: Men’s Health Magazine
Blogs
Podcasts
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0550-828X