When will I recover? Will I recover?
Inspired by these questions, Prof. James Elliott has, for the past 25+ years, investigated the many factors influencing recovery following adulthood traumatic injury, noting that recovery has never been measured the same way twice and its meaning is unique to the individual patient and his/her own life experiences.
James joins Velocity with a profound appreciation that no one comes to their present-day existence having lived life in a vacuum…noting, we all have our own unique life experiences that can and do influence our response to treatment. He is widely recognized as a leader in multidisciplinary science…or more importantly, collaboration…with a long-standing research interest in trauma, resilience, and functional well-being.
His path to this work has been anything but traditional. He began his career as a professional baseball player with the San Diego Padres Baseball Club. A once promising playing career ended after being injured in his third season, providing an opportunity to become a Physical Therapist, learning how to work with and help people recover from their own physical injuries…but soon recognizing that the physical was only part of the clinical journey.
This work has led to numerous projects on measuring and promoting well-being, including ongoing work with the Astronaut Spine Working Group – National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and as an advisor to the Board of Ho’ola Na Pua (HNP), a not-for-profit based in Honolulu, Hawaii, committed to the prevention of sex trafficking and the provision of care for children who have been exploited. He is also a Board Member on the Survivors and Mates Support Network (SAMSN), Australia’s leading organisation for male survivors of child sexual abuse.
At Velocity, James brings a wealth of experience in scientific research and invaluable multidisciplinary connections with health, medicine, allied health, and community-based research and service partners, which will provide important and, indeed, novel channels for Velocity’s bespoke research arm, “The Proving Ground,” which will set a new standard in patient and family outcomes.
James is a father and author of two books: Musculoskeletal Pain – Assessment, Prediction, and Treatment and (dis)Connected: Trauma is Not Destiny. He is the Director of the oldest medical research institute in New South Wales, The Kolling Institute in Sydney, Australia. He believes…we are better together and in order to predict the future, one must and can create it.
