Professor Maria Stokes

Professor Maria Stokes joined the University of Southampton in 2004 and is Deputy Lead of the Active Living for Health Research Group in the School of Health Sciences. Her research interest is to enable lifelong active living and healthy ageing through optimising neuro-musculoskeletal health and reducing health inequalities. A physiotherapist by background, with a PhD in neuromuscular physiology, her research spans the activity spectrum from elite sport to inactivity (including frailty with ageing and microgravity in astronauts), across the age range from adolescents to older adults. The themes of her interdisciplinary research include: 1) Developing and evaluating clinical and research assessment tools; 2) Understanding physiological and biomechanical mechanisms of musculoskeletal function to develop neuromuscular exercise programmes for optimal movement quality; 3) Reducing injury risk in the physically active and preventing progression of post-traumatic injury to osteoarthritis; 4) Enabling lifelong adherence to physical activity; 5) Reducing health inequalities as an advocate for equality, diversity and inclusion.

Prizes

• NIHR Senior Investigator Award (2021)
• Order of the British Empire (OBE) (2018)
• Fellowship of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapy (FCSP) (2013)