Professor Ferreira conducts research on the mechanisms, prognosis and management of musculoskeletal disorders with a focus on low back pain. With +320 scientific publications, and +AUD30M in research funding, she is the 2nd highest ranked researcher in the world for ‘low back pain’ (of a total of 33,000 authors worldwide – Expertscape). She currently leads multiple randomised controlled trials of musculoskeletal interventions, including the first placebo randomised controlled trial of spinal surgery, an NHMRC-funded study that will establish the efficacy of decompressive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis.