Professor George is Professor of Healthy Ageing, Support and Care, a conjoint position between the Adelaide Primary Health Network and Flinders University, practicing occupational therapist and a leader in design and implementation of innovative models of assessment and intervention for chronic conditions in the primary care setting.  She also has an internationally recognised track record in rehabilitation and driving research.   

Professor George has experience in undertaking research with adults in acute, rehabilitation and community settings in relation to driving, vision and rehabilitation.  She has coordinated four randomized controlled trials, involving the coordination of a team of therapists and research staff across government and non-government organizations.  Her unique research methodology focuses on the translation of clinic based techniques to the real driving environment is unique in the field. She is actively seeking collaborative partners to further research exploring application to the real driving environment.

Professor George teaches into the both the postgraduate Programs in Clinical Rehabilitation which provides opportunities for training in interdisciplinary approaches to rehabilitation, and the Masters of Occupational Therapy programs. She teaches the Postgraduate course in Driver assessment and rehabilitation to Occupational Therapists and advanced practice topics in neurological rehabilitation. Her areas of teaching expertise include vision, cognition, physical and occupational rehabilitation for neurological conditions including traumatic brain injury, stroke, and degenrerative neurological conditions. She supervises higher degree research students in occupational therapy and allied health practice.

Since Jan 2019 she has published 46 peer-reviewed articles, all in Q1 journals, 48% as first/senior author; > 3400 citations in last 5 years, 5 year h-index  21 [Google Scholar] , FWCI 1.66 (SciVal) & awarded $10.3 million in Chief Investigator funding (CIA on $8.3 million). She also leads a multidisciplinary team of researchers in the Caring Futures Institute,  Healthy Ageing Support and Care Group as well as an NHMRC Partnership Grant on implementing telemonitoring for people discharged from hospital with chronic conditions. 

Research Impact

Professor Georges’ publications are cited in International stroke guidelines (Virtual reality, Telerehabilitation, Driving, Vision). In 2024-2025 she led a national project developing the National Restorative Care Guidelines and in 2022, a project examining the inter-rater reliability/implementation of the National Single assessment for aged care for community supports, impacting national policy. Their publications related to Social Return on Investment and driving modifications for people with disability informed the development of NDIS policy for funding vehicle modifications. Professor George is also a key contributor to guideline development in occupational therapy as a current working party member for the National Stroke Guidelines. They chair the Clinical Advisory group,  consisting of older people, carers, aged care/primary care staff, and clinicians, to support the design of their program of research and the Primary Health Care Research Interest Group, leading primary care research across South Australia, at the Adelaide PHN.

Research interests include technological advancements in rehabilitation practice, translation of evidence into practice, occupational therapy and allied health services research. Current research projects include the gaining of patients perspectives of Occupational Therapy intervention in the Emergency Department, effectiveness of driving rehabilitation following acquired brain injury, outpatient service redesign and building allied health research capacity.

Professor George is a Matthew Flinders Professor and their research spans the translational pipeline, from codesigning solutions, evidence synthesis, guideline development, and the implementation of evidence in primary care. She is currently leading multiple projects in primary care in implementing early aging initiatives, facilitating multidisciplinary care, and implementing a codesigned social prescription pathway, at the Adelaide PHN. Her joint role and standing in primary care research will facilitate the completion of this project, through facilitating general practice uptake. They were an invited speaker to the National Aged Care Research and Industry Innovation Australia Conference in 2024 to share their research findings related to ageing and primary care research.

In the past 5 years Professor George has supervised 14 higher degree research students (8 as primary), and seen 11 HDR completions, with 3 ongoing (2 as primary). Her students are regularly invited to present in national/international research conferences and have received awards included 2024 Flinders University Research Impact Prize, 2019 Dementia Australia Research Foundation Grants Program Scholarship, SALHN Research award 2021, Industry Choice Award DocFest, and student publication award 2019. Professor George has trained over 100 international occupational therapists in the advanced practice area of driver rehabilitation, establishing services in primary care.

• Sep 2020 Claire Gough - Industry Choice Best Poster Award, DocFest
• Dec 2019 Claire Gough - Best Higher Degree by Research Student Publication

• Client and staff experiences of goal setting and attainment in Transition Care Program (1)
• COPD in rural Australia and the influence of pulmonary rehabilitation (1)

• Altered Functional self after rehabilitation (1)
• Clinical reasoning of Occupational Therapy driver rehabilitation interventions. (1)
• Compassion in Care with Adults with Acquired Brain injury (1)
• Driving and Stroke (1)
• Excitability and Unilateral visual neglect. (1)
• Telerehabilitation Outcomes for Frail Aged Patients Following Fracture and Technology Uptake by Patients and Clinicians (1)
• Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation (1)