Professor Natalie Vanicek

Natalie Vanicek is a Professor of Clinical Biomechanics and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA). She is Associate Editor in Sports Medicine and Biomechanics for the Journal of Sports Sciences and Associate Member of the British Association of Chartered Physiotherapists in limb Absence Rehabilitation (BACPAR).



Natalie moved to the University of Hull from Canada in 2004 and also spent time working at the University of Sydney. She is passionate about her research in clinical gait analysis and musculoskeletal biomechanics. Natalie’s work is aimed at reducing falls, improving function and quality-of-life, and attenuating musculoskeletal decline through exercise among individuals with limited mobility.

Much of her focus has been on people with a lower limb amputation, and improving their mobility with specialised community exercise programmes and prosthetic prescription. She developed the KEEP MOVING community exercise programme for people living with limb loss in Hull https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OakTU9fvNG4 . KEEP MOVING won the 2024 Disability Sport Yorkshire Cyril Villiers Organisation award. It is also being delivered online to people across the country in partnership with the Limbless Association, the largest national charity for people living with limb loss.

Natalie also led on the NIHR-funded STEPFORWARD trial, investigating a self-aligning prosthetic ankle-foot vs. a non-self-aligning ankle-foot for older adults with a transtibial amputation.