Postdoctoral Research Fellow
Overview
Yanfei has a discipline background as a physiotherapist. She completed her PhD at The University of Queensland in October 2021. Her PhD involved ultrasound shear wave elastography, quantitative sensory testing, and physical and psychological measures to uncover potential biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying work-related neck pain and disability in a high-risk occupation group. After her PhD, she was awarded a competitive UQ postdoctoral fellowship to conduct research related to musculoskeletal pain and injury at RECOVER Injury Research Centre. Her current research focuses on uncovering the biopsychosocial mechanisms underlying musculoskeletal pain and injury, developing, and implementing effective and tailored pain treatments. She also has interests in occupational health and health equity. She has a broad range of research skills applicable across methodologies, including randomized controlled trials, case-control, and longitudinal study designs, systematic and scoping reviews, and meta-analysis. Yanfei has presented her work at national and international conferences and received several presentation awards.
Research Interests
- Musculoskeletal pain and injury
- Pain mechanisms
- Rehabilitation
- Culturally responsive care
- Work-related musculoskeletal disorders
Research Impacts
Yanfei's research has informed the development of novel technologies that can generate tailored notifications, such as exercise plan, to mitigate musculoskeletal pain associated with prolonged use of computer and mobile devices (Patent No.: US 11,550,690 B1; Altmetric, May 2023). Additionally, findings of her research has been adopted by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, impacting their policy recommendations for teleworkers (Almetric, May 2023). Three publications of her publications (Xie et al, Ergonomics, 2016; Xie et al, Appl Ergon, 2017; Madeleine, Xie et al, Clin Neurophysiol, 2016) featured in 14 news outlets and blogs, including prominent media platforms such as Yahoo, The Guardian, and Scientific American (Altmetric, May 2023).
Selected awards:
- 2021: The Best Poster Award at the Australian Pain Society 41st Annual Scientific Meeting
- 2019: 2nd Runner-up Best Poster Award at the 2019 Brisbane Pain Research Symposium
- 2019: People’s Choice Best Oral Presentation at the 2019 UQ School of Health and Rehabilitation Postgraduate Research Conference
- 2018: Winner of the Best Infographic Award at the 2018 School of Health and Rehabilitation Postgraduate Research Conference
- 2017-2021: The University of Queensland Training Research Training Scholarship
- 2017: Outstanding Student Project Award, awarded by The Hong Kong Ergonomics Society, 2017
Selected Grant
- 2022-2024: Mechanisms and prognostic factors of chronic pain in Duchenne muscular dystrophy: A quantitative sensory testing study. High-Level Hospital Research Foundation of Guangdong Province, China: Early- to Mid-Career Clinician Researcher Seeding Grant (CIB).
- 2021-2022: The University of Queensland Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Scheme
- 2018: Travel grant from the 11th Pan-Pacific Conference on Rehabilitation
Media highlights:
Research on 'musculoskeletal pain and use of mobile handheld devices' was mentioned in the following media outlets:
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/texting-thumb-trigger-finger-gamers-thumb-and-other-smartphone-injuries/
- https://ca.news.yahoo.com/young-people-growing-horns-because-072713438.html?guccounter=1
- https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-find-evidence-that-younger-people-are-growing-horn-like-bumps
- https://www.europe1.fr/sante/smartphones-tablettes-et-ordinateurs-attention-aux-troubles-moteurs-3370220
- https://videnskab.dk/krop-sundhed/mobiltelefonen-kan-oedelaegge-forbindelsen-mellem-dine-muskler
- https://www.sydsvenskan.se/2016-09-11/forskare-mobilmissbruk-kan-forstora-ditt-nervsystem
- https://jyllands-posten.dk/nyviden/ECE8985971/du-svaekker-dine-muskler-naar-du-bruger-for-meget-tid-med-smartphone/
Qualifications
- Bachelro Degree ( Honours), Sun Yat-Sen University
- Masters Degree, Hong Kong Polytechnic University
- Doctor of Philosophy, The University of Queensland
Publications
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Journal Article: <i>Edgeworthia gardneri</i> (Wall.) Meisn. Ethanolic Extract Attenuates Endothelial Activation and Alleviates Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury
Lang, Xiaoya, Zhong, Chao, Su, Lingqing, Qin, Manman, Xie, Yanfei, Shan, Dan, Cui, Yaru, Shi, Min, Li, Min, Quan, Hexiu, Qiu, Liang, Zhong, Guoyue and Yu, Jun (2024). Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn. Ethanolic Extract Attenuates Endothelial Activation and Alleviates Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. Molecules, 29 (5) ARTN 1068. doi: 10.3390/molecules29051068
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Xie, Yanfei, Nielsen, Mandy, Kendall, Melissa, Jones, Rachel, Ownsworth, Tamara and Geraghty, Timothy (2023). Care transitions for people with acquired neurological disability in the first 12 months following inpatient rehabilitation: health service use and obstacles. Health and Social Care in the Community, 2023 2894552, 1-16. doi: 10.1155/2023/2894552
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Ownsworth, Tamara, Mols, Helen, O'Loghlen, Jessica, Xie, Yanfei, Kendall, Melissa, Nielsen, Mandy, Mitchell, Jessie, Jones, Rachel and Geraghty, Timothy (2023). Stigma following acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury: relationship to psychological distress and community integration in the first-year post-discharge. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-11. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2023.2205173
Publications
Journal Article
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Lang, Xiaoya, Zhong, Chao, Su, Lingqing, Qin, Manman, Xie, Yanfei, Shan, Dan, Cui, Yaru, Shi, Min, Li, Min, Quan, Hexiu, Qiu, Liang, Zhong, Guoyue and Yu, Jun (2024). Edgeworthia gardneri (Wall.) Meisn. Ethanolic Extract Attenuates Endothelial Activation and Alleviates Cardiac Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury. Molecules, 29 (5) ARTN 1068. doi: 10.3390/molecules29051068
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Xie, Yanfei, Nielsen, Mandy, Kendall, Melissa, Jones, Rachel, Ownsworth, Tamara and Geraghty, Timothy (2023). Care transitions for people with acquired neurological disability in the first 12 months following inpatient rehabilitation: health service use and obstacles. Health and Social Care in the Community, 2023 2894552, 1-16. doi: 10.1155/2023/2894552
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Ownsworth, Tamara, Mols, Helen, O'Loghlen, Jessica, Xie, Yanfei, Kendall, Melissa, Nielsen, Mandy, Mitchell, Jessie, Jones, Rachel and Geraghty, Timothy (2023). Stigma following acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury: relationship to psychological distress and community integration in the first-year post-discharge. Disability and Rehabilitation, 1-11. doi: 10.1080/09638288.2023.2205173
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Xie, Yanfei, Thomas, Lucy, Johnston, Venerina and Coombes, Brooke K. (2023). Cervical and axioscapular muscle stiffness measured with shear wave elastography: a comparison between different levels of work-related neck disability. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 69 102754, 1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2023.102754
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Zheng, Guiyang, Ye, Haoran, Liang, Yunyi, Jin, Xin, Xia, Changlei, Fan, Wei, Shi, Yang, Xie, Yanfei, Li, Jianzhang and Ge, Shengbo (2023). Pre-treatment of natural bamboo for use as a high-performance bio-composites via acetic acid ball milling technology. Construction and Building Materials, 367 130350, 1-11. doi: 10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2023.130350
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Mou, Chen-Ye, Xie, Yan-Fei, Wei, Jia-Xin, Wang, Qi-Yao, Le, Jing-Yang, Bao, Yong-Jie, Zhang, Pan-Pan, Mao, Yue-Chun, Huang, Xing-Han, Pan, Han-Bo, Naman, C. Benjamin, Liu, Lin, Liang, Hong-Ze, Wu, Xiang, Xu, Jia and Cui, Wei (2022). Rose Bengal inhibits β-amyloid oligomers-induced tau hyperphosphorylation via acting on Akt and CDK5 kinases. Psychopharmacology, 239 (11), 3579-3593. doi: 10.1007/s00213-022-06232-3
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Xie, Yanfei, Coombes, Brooke K., Thomas, Lucy and Johnston, Venerina (2022). Time course and risk profile of work-related neck disability: a longitudinal latent class growth analysis. Physical Therapy, 102 (6) pzac050, 1-9. doi: 10.1093/ptj/pzac050
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Xie, Yanfei, Hutting, Nathan, Bartys, Serena and Johnston, Venerina (2021). Interventions to promote work‐focused care by healthcare providers for individuals with musculoskeletal conditions a scoping review. Journal of Occupational Rehabilitation, 31 (4), 840-865. doi: 10.1007/s10926-021-09971-w
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Xie, Yanfei, Thomas, Lucy, Barbero, Marco, Falla, Deborah, Johnston, Venerina and Coombes, Brooke K. (2021). Heightened pain facilitation rather than impaired pain inhibition distinguishes those with moderate/severe disability in work-related neck pain. Pain, Publish Ahead of Print (8), 2225-2236. doi: 10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002213
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Xie, Yanfei, Jun, Deokhoon, Thomas, Lucy, Coombes, Brooke and Johnston, Venerina (2020). Comparing central pain processing in individuals with non-traumatic neck pain and healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Pain, 21 (11-12), 1101-1124. doi: 10.1016/j.jpain.2020.02.007
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Musculoskeletal pain and disability in sonographers: more than an ergonomic issue
Xie, Yanfei, Coombes, Brooke K., Thomas, Lucy and Johnston, Venerina (2020). Musculoskeletal pain and disability in sonographers: more than an ergonomic issue. Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography, 33 (12), 1526-1527. doi: 10.1016/j.echo.2020.07.005
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Neck/shoulder problems and visual disturbances among surgeons: a scoping review
Alhusuny, Ameer, Cook, Margaret, Khalil, Akram, Xie, Yanfei and Johnston, Venerina (2020). Neck/shoulder problems and visual disturbances among surgeons: a scoping review. Journal of Surgical Research, 247, 413-428. doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2019.09.064
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Quantifying cervical and axioscapular muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography
Xie, Yanfei, Thomas, Lucy, Hug, François, Johnston, Venerina and Coombes, Brooke K. (2019). Quantifying cervical and axioscapular muscle stiffness using shear wave elastography. Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology, 48, 94-102. doi: 10.1016/j.jelekin.2019.06.009
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Tsang, Sharon M. H., Szeto, Grace P. Y., Xie, Y. F. and Lee, Raymond Y. W. (2018). Association of electromyographic activation patterns with pain and functional disability in people with chronic neck pain. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 118 (7), 1481-1492. doi: 10.1007/s00421-018-3878-z
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Xie, Yanfei, Feng, Beibei, Chen, Kedi, Andersen, Lars L., Page, Phil and Wang, Yuling (2018). The efficacy of dynamic contract-relax stretching on delayed-onset muscle soreness among healthy individuals : A randomized clinical trial. Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 28 (1), 28-36. doi: 10.1097/jsm.0000000000000442
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Xie, Yan Fei, Szeto, Grace, Madeleine, Pascal and Tsang, Sharon (2017). Spinal kinematics during smartphone texting - A comparison between young adults with and without chronic neck-shoulder pain. Applied Ergonomics, 68, 160-168. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2017.10.018
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Xie, Yanfei, Szeto, Grace and Dai, Jie (2017). Prevalence and risk factors associated with musculoskeletal complaints among users of mobile handheld devices: a systematic review. Applied Ergonomics, 59, 132-142. doi: 10.1016/j.apergo.2016.08.020
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Madeleine, Pascal, Xie, Yanfei, Szeto, Grace P. Y. and Samani, Afshin (2016). Effects of chronic neck–shoulder pain on normalized mutual information analysis of surface electromyography during functional tasks. Clinical Neurophysiology, 127 (9), 3110-3117. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2016.06.015
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Xie, Yanfei, Szeto, Grace P.Y., Dai, Jie and Madeleine, Pascal (2016). A comparison of muscle activity in using touchscreen smartphone among young people with and without chronic neck–shoulder pain. Ergonomics, 59 (1), 61-72. doi: 10.1080/00140139.2015.1056237
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Ultrasound assesses muscle morphology and function under different neuropathological conditions
Chen, Ke-Di, Chen, Na, Xie, Yan-Fei and Li, Le (2013). Ultrasound assesses muscle morphology and function under different neuropathological conditions. Chinese Journal of Tissue Engineering Research, 17 (20), 3756-3763. doi: 10.3969/j.issn.2095-4344.2013.20.020
Other Outputs
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Data of time course and risk profile of work-related neck disability
Xie, Yanfei, Johnston, Venerina, Thomas, Lucy and Coombes, Brooke (2023). Data of time course and risk profile of work-related neck disability. The University of Queensland. (Dataset) doi: 10.48610/67e0858
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A biopsychosocial approach to understanding neck pain among sonographers
Xie, Yanfei (2021). A biopsychosocial approach to understanding neck pain among sonographers. PhD Thesis, School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, The University of Queensland. doi: 10.14264/e1ad57f
