Mr Brendan Mouatt
Higher Degree by Research Candidate
School of Allied Health and Human Performance
College of Health
Brendan is based in Adelaide, Australia, where he is undertaking doctoral research in pain science alongside an active role in teaching and research translation across health and rehabilitation. His work sits at the intersection of clinical practice, cognitive neuroscience, and contemporary philosophy of science.
His primary research focus is on clinical interactions, particularly how implicit and explicit messages within healthcare encounters shape perceptions of self, body, and environment, and how these perceptions influence behaviour, symptom experience, and recovery trajectories. Drawing on predictive processing and modern models of pain, Brendan examines how explanations, expectations, and treatment contexts drive learning, uncertainty, and belief updating.
He is especially interested in persistent musculoskeletal pain, where biomedical markers often fail to explain outcomes, and investigates how treatment explanations and intervention choices influence perceived fragility, healthcare utilisation, and engagement with movement.
Alongside his research, Brendan works to translate contemporary pain science into clinical practice, supporting clinicians to provide more accurate, flexible, and context-sensitive care for their patients. He has extensive teaching experience within allied health programs at University of South Australia, Victoria University, and Deakin University, teaching across pain mechanisms and exercise physiology curricula. He is also an educator and business leader, serving as CEO of Neuro Orthopaedic Institute, where he leads large-scale education, research translation, and publication projects that bridge science, clinical practice, and patient understanding.
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