Jessica Van Oosterwijck

Professional bio

Jessica is an Associate Professor in the field of chronic disorders and pain a Ghent University (Belgium). She conducts her research activities at the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences from Ghent University where she is co-header of the Spine, Head and Pain Research Unit Ghent. At Ghent University she is also Director of the Academy for Rehabilitation Sciences (ACREHAB) an institute for continued education and co-lead of the Center for InterProfessional Collaboration in Education Research and Practice (IPC-ERP UGent). Furthermore, she is a founding member of the Pain In Motion international research consortium.

Her main research topics of interest are central nervous system mechanisms of pain and fatigue, exercise pathophysiology, pain-motor interactions, pain-stress interactions and rehabilitation, which she studies in healthy people and in populations suffering from pain and/or fatigue like chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, chronic whiplash associated disorders, low back pain, osteoarthritis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Her expertise extends to different research methodologies to evaluate pain, psychological factors, physical activity levels, exercise capacity, autonomic function, muscle and brain function and structure.

Jessica is a member of the Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging (GIfMI) management board.

Affiliations

• Associate professor - Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University
• Co-lead - InterProfessional Collaboration in Education Research and Practice (IPC-ERP UGent)
• Director - Academy for Rehabilitation Sciences (ACREHAB)