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Dr David Klyne

NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow

School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences
Faculty of Health and Behavioural Sciences
d.klyne@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 54569

Overview

David M. Klyne PhD, MSc (MolBiol), DPhty, BAppSc) is a NHMRC Emerging Leadership Fellow and Fulbright Scholar within the Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health. There he leads an international team that probe the bio-psycho-social mechanisms that underlie physiological and pathological pain. His niche is in understanding the neuro-immune pathways involved and how they can be targeted with interventions using a blend of basic and clinical sciences and his skills and knowledge gained through his four degrees – neuro-immunology (PhD), molecular biology (Master), physiotherapy (Doctorate) and applied sciences (Bachelor).

David has received numerous national and international research awards that span basic and clinical sciences. These include the premier international award for spine research (ISSLS Prize) on two occasions – in Basic Science (2019) and Clinical Science (2018). In 2019, he was awarded a postdoctoral Fulbright Fellowship to continue his work elucidating the role of sleep in chronic pain at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine (Temple University), in the USA. He was also one of ten Australian scientists to attend the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting in 2019 and again in 2023, and has received more than $100K in research prize money and $17.5M in research funding.

Research Interests

  • Acute to chronic pain
  • Neuro-immunology
  • Sleep
  • Chronic pain prevention and rehabilitation

Research Impacts

Klyne's research has attracted 17.5M ($8.5M as CIA/PI) from local, national and international funding bodies, been adopted by the world’s leading forum on pain (IASP) in the form of an online Fact Sheet (2021; >50K online visits), informed clinical guidelines and policies relating to the management of pain (e.g., American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists), and formed the basis of a chapter in one of the world’s leading physiotherapy textbooks – Grieve's (2024). His reputation is exemplified by his >40 national/international presentations (>20 funded invited and/or Keynote) and invitations to provide expertise on global matters such as at the 2019 Opioid Epidemic Consortium in Kentucky, USA. The significance of Klyne's program of research to the broader public is evidenced by features in the media, including 9 News Australia (interview), the Sydney Morning Herald and Australian Academy of Science. In 2021, 9 News released a mini-documentary about Klyne's work on sleep and pain, which ranked in the top 5 stories nationally on NineMSN. From this program of work, Klyne is consitently ranked in the top 1% of experts globally in back pain (Expertscape).

Qualifications

  • Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
  • Masters (Coursework), The University of Queensland
  • Doctor of Philosophy of Physiotherapy Studies, Bond University
  • Bachelor of Applied Science

Publications

View all Publications

Grants

View all Grants

Supervision

  • Disentangling the relationship between sleep, stress and pain.

    Doctor Philosophy

  • Relationship Between Trunk Postural Control And Low Back Pain

    Doctor Philosophy

View all Supervision

Available Projects

  • Unravelling the molecular mechanisms that explain how exercise programs improve chronic pain

    Physical activity and sleep are two of the most modifiable “every day” behaviours that we are learning to target with interventions to prevent and manage chronic diseases. This fully funded PhD will focus on unravelling the molecular mechanisms that explain how physical activity/exercise programs benefit people with chronic hip pain, and how sleep may influence this relationship. Outcomes will guide the refinement and development of new exercise and sleep interventions for improved chronic pain management and prevention. The successful PhD candidate will join Dr Klyne’s team at The University of Queensland and be co-supervised by A/Prof Michelle Hall at The University of Sydney.

    Essential criteria: An undergraduate degree in biomedical science, physiotherapy, human movement or a related discipline; eligibility for admission to the PhD program at The University of Queensland; knowledge of pain physiology; experience with statistical programs for data analysis; excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English. Previous research experience and/or coursework in molecular biology is highly desirable.

    Interested applicants should email Dr David Klyne with the subject line “PhD student application”. In your email, please briefly describe your research interests, career ambitions, qualifications and career groups. Please also include a PDF of your CV. Applications will be reviewed as soon as they are received and will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

  • Disentangling the relationship between sleep and pain

    We are seeking PhD students with a background in biomedical and/or rehabilitative sciences to join our team to contribute to a body of work that aims to identify if and how sleep influences pain. Projects will involve the measurement and analysis of sleep in the “real world” to understand how daily variations in sleep – one of the most important, yet modifiable health behaviors – drive the day-to-day “waxing and waning” of back pain. The work will involve a multidisciplinary team to address this challenging issue.

    Essential criteria: An undergraduate degree with first or second class division 1 Honours in biomedical science, physiotherapy or a related discipline; eligibility for admission to the PhD program at The University of Queensland; knowledge of pain physiology; experience with statistical programs for data analysis; excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English.

View all Available Projects

Publications

Journal Article

Conference Publication

Other Outputs

Grants (Administered at UQ)

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

Possible Research Projects

Note for students: The possible research projects listed on this page may not be comprehensive or up to date. Always feel free to contact the staff for more information, and also with your own research ideas.

  • Unravelling the molecular mechanisms that explain how exercise programs improve chronic pain

    Physical activity and sleep are two of the most modifiable “every day” behaviours that we are learning to target with interventions to prevent and manage chronic diseases. This fully funded PhD will focus on unravelling the molecular mechanisms that explain how physical activity/exercise programs benefit people with chronic hip pain, and how sleep may influence this relationship. Outcomes will guide the refinement and development of new exercise and sleep interventions for improved chronic pain management and prevention. The successful PhD candidate will join Dr Klyne’s team at The University of Queensland and be co-supervised by A/Prof Michelle Hall at The University of Sydney.

    Essential criteria: An undergraduate degree in biomedical science, physiotherapy, human movement or a related discipline; eligibility for admission to the PhD program at The University of Queensland; knowledge of pain physiology; experience with statistical programs for data analysis; excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English. Previous research experience and/or coursework in molecular biology is highly desirable.

    Interested applicants should email Dr David Klyne with the subject line “PhD student application”. In your email, please briefly describe your research interests, career ambitions, qualifications and career groups. Please also include a PDF of your CV. Applications will be reviewed as soon as they are received and will continue to be accepted until the position is filled.

  • Disentangling the relationship between sleep and pain

    We are seeking PhD students with a background in biomedical and/or rehabilitative sciences to join our team to contribute to a body of work that aims to identify if and how sleep influences pain. Projects will involve the measurement and analysis of sleep in the “real world” to understand how daily variations in sleep – one of the most important, yet modifiable health behaviors – drive the day-to-day “waxing and waning” of back pain. The work will involve a multidisciplinary team to address this challenging issue.

    Essential criteria: An undergraduate degree with first or second class division 1 Honours in biomedical science, physiotherapy or a related discipline; eligibility for admission to the PhD program at The University of Queensland; knowledge of pain physiology; experience with statistical programs for data analysis; excellent communication skills (written and verbal) in English.

This staff member is a UQ Expert for media in the following fields:

Pain, Chronic Pain, Sleep, Physical Activity

They are happy to lend their expertise to your articles or broadcasts and share their research discoveries and insights with the community via media channels.

For additional assistance with story ideas, general advice and information or help with seeking further experts, please email the UQ Media Team or telephone (07) 3365 1120.

Links

ORCID: 0000-0002-4993-5101

Scopus ID: 54987395500

Google Scholar ID: 742VSNMAAAAJ

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