Cynthia Srikesavan

I graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy in January 1998 from the Government College of Physiotherapy (GCP), Tiruchirappalli, India. I then started working in different teaching capacities alongside my clinical responsibilities in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Gujarat. Following my Master’s degree in Psychology in 2003, I completed my MPhil in Psychology in 2004. In 2009, I was awarded a Master’s degree in Physiotherapy with specialisation in neurological conditions.

In September 2010, I joined the multi-disciplinary Ph.D. program in Applied Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba, Canada and obtained my Doctorate degree in February 2015. My Ph.D. thesis investigated the feasibility of conducting a randomized controlled trial on a novel, computer game-based hand exercise programme for people with rheumatoid arthritis or hand osteoarthritis.

I began working at the University of Oxford in June 2015. I am currently involved in two implementation projects of the Strengthening and Stretching for Rheumatoid Arthritis of the Hand (SARAH) exercise programme for people with difficulties in hand function due to rheumatoid arthritis https://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736(14)60998-3.pdf. I am working with the SARAH implementation team in evaluating the web-based SARAH training programme (iSARAH) that we have developed for NHS hand therapists to aid its translation in their clinical practice https://isarah.octru.ox.ac.uk. I am also involved in the development and evaluation of the self-guided, web-based SARAH programme (mySARAH) for people with rheumatoid arthritis. I am also exploring patients' experiences with the interventions they received for their frozen shoulder in the multi-centre UK-FROST trial http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN48804508.

My other areas of interest are using simple and innovative technologies in patient healthcare, particularly of supported self-management in arthritic conditions, and translation and cross-cultural adaptation of MSK patient-reported outcome measures in Tamil.