Prof. dr. Frederike van Wijck
Frederike van Wijck is Professor of Neurological Rehabilitation Sciences at Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, where she co-directs the Research Centre for Health and leads the Stroke and Neurological Rehabilitation Research Group (SYNERGY).
As a human movement scientist with a qualification in physiotherapy, she is fascinated by what people with neurological conditions need to learn through rehabilitation in order to (re)engage with activities that give meaning to their lives – and how healthcare and other professionals can best facilitate this learning process. Her research focuses on a range of rehabilitation interventions (including those to improve arm function, walking and fitness) that are based on learning strategies, including skill acquisition, exercise, and behaviour change techniques, in studies that use quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches. Frederike collaborates with a wide range of colleagues across different disciplines, including those working in health and exercise sciences, bioengineering, psychology, social sciences and media, to better understand how the needs and goals of people with long-term neurological conditions unfold over the course of their lives, and how interventions can best be co-created to enable them to achieve their longer term goals.
Frederike is secretary of the European Forum for Research in Rehabilitation, immediate past-president of the Society for Research in Rehabilitation in the UK, and founding member of the Scottish Stroke Allied Health Professions Forum in Scotland. She loves mountaineering in Scotland, which provides endless scope for trial – and especially error.