Congress programme committee 2025
The congress programme committee (CPC) will shape the scientific programme for World Physiotherapy Congress 2025. The CPC consists of 10 physiotherapists, each bringing their unique experience to complement the committee’s expertise. They are responsible for developing an exciting, relevant, and innovative scientific programme.
Ashokan Arumugam Congress programme committee member
Ashokan Arumugam
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Ashokan is an assistant professor of physiotherapy at University of Sharjah (UOS), United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ashokan received his PhD with a doctoral scholarship from University of Otago, New Zealand, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship at U-motion Lab, Umeå University, Sweden. Ashokan has a special interest in physical activity analysis, biomechanical analyses of the lower limbs, game-based rehabilitation, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses. He is an active member of the neuromusculoskeletal rehabilitation research group and sustainable engineering asset management research group at UOS. Ashokan is a member of the task force of Emirates Physiotherapy Society for developing physiotherapy competency standards and the scope of physiotherapy practice in UAE. He is involved in funded projects investigating factors associated with objective physical activity levels and sedentary behaviour in different populations. He has published 63 research articles in Scopus-indexed journals and has presentations at national/international conferences, including World Physiotherapy's congresses.
Kira Bullock Congress programme committee member
Kira Bullock
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Kira is a physical therapist with a clinical focus in neurologic rehabilitation across the care continuum. She was a Helen Kaiser Scholar at Duke University where she completed her doctor of physical therapy. Kira is a National Health Institute TL1 Scholar at Wake Forest University. She is also the rehabilitation research director for Duke Global Neurosurgery and Neurology at Duke University. Prior to physiotherapy, Kira's educational and professional background focused on Japanese history, culture, and language. She worked in Japan as an educator for four years, where she also served her prefecture by re-establishing and leading a volunteer organisation promoting community events and support for overseas workers.
Kira's research focuses are examining care transitions in neurologic rehabilitation and rehabilitation service strengthening in evolving health systems. Her area of special interest is global student engagement. She has worked with international healthcare partners at national and academic institutes through consulting and academic projects.
Catherine Joy EscuadraCongress programme committee chair
Catherine Joy Escuadra
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Catherine is a faculty member at the University of Santo Tomas, College of Rehabilitation Sciences, Manila, Philippines, with a master’s in health profession education. She is also an editorial board member of the Philippine Journal of Allied Health Sciences and the Philippine Journal of Physical Therapy and the member secretary of their college's ethics review committee. Her research interest and expertise in educational big data, interprofessional education and collaboration, blended learning, evidence-based practice, older adults, and non-communicable diseases have led to her international research presentations, lectures, and publications. She has helped organise student and professional physiotherapy congresses in the Philippines and Asia Western Pacific region. Catherine has served as a CPC member, an abstract reviewer and research presenter, and moderator for previous World Physiotherapy congresses. She is taking a PhD in educational big data at Ewha Womans University, Seoul, Republic of Korea, under the Higher Education ASEAN Talents scholarship. Catherine is a member of the Philippine Physical Therapy Association.
Nathan HuttingCongress programme committee member
Nathan Hutting
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Nathan is an associate professor at the HAN University of Applied Sciences in the Netherlands. He also works as a physiotherapist in a private practice. He is a board member of the association VvAA, the business services provider for professionals in the Dutch healthcare sector, with over 130,000 members. Nathan is also involved in the Physiotherapy Research Society (UK) and Pain, Mind and movement, a special interest group of the International Association for the Study of Pain (IASP). His current research topics include musculoskeletal conditions, self-management, patient-centered care, occupational health and vascular conditions. Nathan has published about 50 peer-reviewed articles. He has made numerous international congress presentations and has chaired focused symposia at the World Physiotherapy congresses in 2017, 2019, 2021 and 2023. Nathan is an associate editor of the European Journal of Physiotherapy and BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders and a member of the International Advisory Board of Musculoskeletal Science and Practice.
Sam Chidi Ibeneme Congress programme committee member
Sam Chidi Ibeneme
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Sam is a consultant neuro-physiotherapist, dean faculty of health sciences (FHST), David Umahi Federal University of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State, Nigeria, and a former associate dean of FHST, University of Nigeria. He has over 24 years of academic experience. His research niche is active living, and therapeutic kinesiology with over 40 peer-reviewed publications/books. He is the PI of several clinical trials in HIV and cancer. His current studies are focused on understanding the roles of physical activity in disease prevention by modulating the expression of pro-inflammatory molecules, mRNA and immune agents. He is an ERASMUS Scholar at Hochschule Hannover University, Germany, a visiting professor at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, Ghana, and a KIC scholar at Witwatersrand University, South Africa. He is an external examiner at Stellenbosch University, South Africa, University of KwaZulu Natal, South Africa, and Kamuzu Banda University of Health Sciences, Malawi. He is a member of the Nigeria Society of Physiotherapy.
Emer McGowanCongress programme committee member
Emer McGowan
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Emer is an assistant professor in interprofessional learning at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland. Emer’s main research interests are refugee health, leadership in healthcare, health professional engagement and interprofessional learning. She has a special interest in qualitative research methods.
Following her graduation in 2010 as a physiotherapist, she worked in a range of clinical physiotherapy roles in Ireland, the UK and New Zealand. She returned to Ireland in 2013 to begin her PhD at Trinity College Dublin, researching leadership in the profession of physiotherapy.
She was awarded her PhD in 2017 and completed her postdoctoral fellowship, researching leadership and leadership development in healthcare at Trinity College Dublin. She has been a member of two European funded research projects on refugee health. Emer is also a board member of the Irish Society of Chartered Physiotherapists.
Shirley Ngai Congress programme committee member
Shirley Ngai
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Shirley is an associate professor in the department of rehabilitation sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her research interests include cardiopulmonary physiotherapy, pulmonary rehabilitation, exercise physiology, and medical simulation. She is enthusiastic about physiotherapist education and is keen to develop teaching innovations to enhance students’ learning. Shirley is the president of the International Confederation of Cardiorespiratory Physiotherapists (ICCrPT) and chairman of the international affairs and publication subcommittee of Hong Kong Physiotherapy Association.
Sonia RoaCongress programme committee member
Sonia Roa
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Sonia is a physiotherapist with more than 25 years of experience in the field of university education, at an undergraduate and graduate level. She has a master's in university teaching and a master's in public health. She has clinical experience in women's health, particularly in pregnancy and the post-partum period. She is the director of pregnancy and postpartum physical therapy diploma. Her work as a researcher has been focused on physical activity and women's health with qualitative and quantitative methodology, especially in primary health care. She is the postgraduate subdirector of the physical therapy school, Universidad del Desarrollo in Santiago, Chile, where she has implemented university training programmes in different physiotherapy fields. Sonia is a founder and first president of the Chilean Organization for Physical Therapy in Women's Health. She is a former vice president of the Organization of Physiotherapists in Pelvic and Women's Health (IOPPWH).
Georg SuppCongress programme committee member
Georg Supp
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Georg has been a physiotherapist since 1992 and is co-owner of the rehabilitation centre PULZ in Freiburg, Germany. He is an international instructor of the McKenzie Institute International and a member of its education council. He teaches physiotherapists worldwide. Since 2023 he has taught the seminar, Talk it easy. The focus of his clinical work is on patients with chronic back and neck patients and extremity problems, especially sports injuries. Georg has published book chapters, articles, comments and letters in several peer-reviewed journals. As secretary of the IMDTRF Research Foundation he’s involved in reviewing and funding of MSK research projects. In 2018 he received the Stone of the Wise award from Physio Deutschland, in recognition of his dedication to the profession. Georg is currently conducting research on patient reported outcomes and patients’ perspectives.
Misako YokoyamaCongress programme committee member
Misako Yokoyama
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Misako is a pediatric physical therapist. She was a member of congress programme committee for World Physiotherapy Congress 2023. In 1986, she obtained a national qualification as a physical therapist in Japan. She worked at Kitasato University Hospital in 1986 and moved to the Kitasato University school of health sciences in 2006. In 2008, she received a master’s degree in health medicine, and in 2013, received a doctorate from the Kitasato University graduate school of medicine. Her research focuses on children’s respiratory physical therapy and autonomic nervous system activity. In addition, she is a vice president of Japanese Society of Pediatric Physical Therapy and the director of Japan Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. She would like to build an intervention and service delivery model based on evidence and international standards. She also teaches students, medical professionals, and presents lectures at national conferences.
