Associate Professor
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Dr Elizabeth (Liz) Lynch is dedicated to improving how stroke rehabilitation is provided. Liz’s research involves working with healthcare teams and people living with stroke to develop and test systems so that every person with stroke receives evidence-based rehabilitation interventions. Liz also leads projects to improve information provision to people with stroke and their families. She is leading a 3-year project (2023-25) supported by Medical Research Futures Fund to codesign and test digital solutions to promote self-efficacy in people with stroke and their families.
Liz has extensive experience working as a physiotherapist in inpatient rehabilitation settings, where she received state and national awards for implementing evidence-based-practice. She is a keen advocate for health professionals to develop skills and confidence to implement evidence and she regularly runs workshops on implementing evidence-based care with national and international clinical teams and networks.
She obtained a PhD in Health Sciences (University of South Australia, conferred 2016) before working in the NHMRC Centre of Research Excellence in Stroke Rehabilitation and Brain Recovery as the Implementation Science Research Fellow. Liz was awarded an NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship (2018-21). She commenced at Flinders University in the role of Matthew Flinders Fellow in February 2021.
Liz has expertise in implementation science research and codesign methodologies. She uses multiple research methodologies and has published findings from cluster-randomised controlled trials, randomised controlled trials, systematic reviews, qualitative studies as well as surveys and observational cohort studies. Liz co-chairs the Australian and New Zealand Living Stroke Guidelines Steering Committee.
Research interests:
Implementation science
Stroke rehabilitation
Clinical practice guidelines
Information provision
Codesign
Bachelor of Applied Science (Physiotherapy)
Bachelor of Health Science (Honours)
PhD in Health Science
NHMRC Early Career Research Fellowship (2018-21)
Stroke Society of Australasia Annual Scientific meeting new Investigator Award 2019
Women’s Research Excellence Award (University of Adelaide) 2019
HSRAANZ Impact Award 2018
Adelaide Nursing School Eleanor Harald Post-Doctoral Fellowship (University of Adelaide) 2017
Ruth Grant Prize for dedication and application to research in physiotherapy (UniSA) 2016
Robert Penhall Early Career Research Award for excellence in gerontological research 2016
Stroke Foundation Guidelines to Practice Award 2016
Stroke Society of Australasia and AVERT Award for Excellence in Research in memory of Renee Sheedy 2015
SmartStrokes Allied Health and Nursing Conference Most controversial abstract award 2014
Stroke Society of Australasia Nursing and Allied Health Scientific Award 2013
Stroke Society of Australasia Service Award 2013
Australian Post-graduate Award scholarship (2012-15)
UniSA top-up scholarship (2012-15)
SA Health Allied Health Scientific and Complementary Health Award for Transforming Evidence into Practice 2008
UniSA medal for high academic achievement 2005
Leads projects which investigate and evaluate implementation of evidence in rehabilitation settings, implementation science activities, codesign with people with lived experience of stroke.
Education and training activities regarding implementation of evidence-based practice.
Supervision of higher degree research students.
Stroke rehabilitation
Access to rehabilitation
Information provision