Rodrigo Rossi Nogueira Rizzo

Dr. Rodrigo Rizzo is a Medical Research Future Funding (MRFF) Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA) and the School of Health Sciences, University of New South Wales (UNSW). Dr. Rizzo worked as a physiotherapist and clinical hypnotherapist to help people with chronic pain for almost 20 years.

Dr. Rizzo is interested in implementing evidence-based practice in primary care and developing or optimising new non-pharmacological interventions to manage chronic pain, particularly back pain. Dr Rizzo uses cutting-edge digital technologies, including artificial intelligence and mobile applications, to close the evidence-to-practice gap.

Dr. Rizzo has conducted randomised controlled trials and undertaken process evaluations (e.g., mediation analysis and qualitative analysis) of non-pharmacological interventions for chronic low back pain. He pioneered the combination of hypnotic suggestions as an experiential component for the management of chronic back pain. Dr. Rizzo's innovative approach has been applied to several allied health teams to manage chronic pain, including the Prince of Wales Hospital, St. George's Hospital, and St. Vincent's Hospital in Australia. Dr. Rizzo has established successful industry-academic partnerships to translate evidence into practice and improve pain management in primary care.