Dale Cooper

Biography

Dale Cooper is a Senior Lecturer and Programme Director of the MSc Physiotherapy programme at Keele University. His background combines clinical expertise, research in musculoskeletal (MSK) health, and leadership in physiotherapy education.

After qualifying as a physiotherapist, Dale worked in the NHS for nearly a decade and progressed to the role of Clinical Specialist in musculoskeletal care. He also worked in private practice and served as a Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist for the England and Wales Cricket Board from 2005 to 2021. He was funded by the NIHR to complete an MA in Research Methods, followed by a Versus Arthritis-funded PhD at the University of Nottingham, where he led a national study on MSK health in retired Great Britain Olympians.

This work developed into an international collaboration, as he went on to co-lead the World Olympians Association Musculoskeletal Health Study - an IOC-funded project involving over 7,000 participants across 131 countries. He also designed a feasibility RCT (UP-KNEE), using functional MRI to investigate pain mechanisms in osteoarthritis.

While his early research has focused on athlete health, he is now transitioning toward work in population-level MSK health, physical activity, and multimorbidity, particularly through the use of large national datasets.

Dale is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has led curriculum development to support the next generation of Allied Health Professionals.

Research and scholarship

His primary focus lies in musculoskeletal epidemiology, and understanding the prevalence, distribution, and determinants of musculoskeletal conditions within various populations. He previously led the British Olympic Association’s Olympian Study, demonstrating expertise in studying the health and well-being of elite athletes. He took on the role of Principal Investigator for a study examining pain mechanisms in knee osteoarthritis using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). As a Co-Investigator on the Retired Olympians Musculoskeletal Health Study (ROMHS), he continued to contribute to research focused on the musculoskeletal health of retired Olympians. He actively supervises doctoral students examining musculoskeletal health outcomes within industry and is committed to mentoring and fostering the next generation of researchers. He has developed collaborations with researchers at Universities in the UK and overseas and welcomes potential collaborations and inquiries from doctoral students.

Teaching

He teaches across both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the School of Allied Health Professionals at Keele University. His teaching focus is musculoskeletal practice, sport and exercise medicine, and research methods. He has acted as external examiner for undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in physiotherapy and postgraduate research degrees in other universities in the UK.

Collaborations and grants awards

• GB Olympian Study
• World Olympians Association - Retired Olympian Musculoskeletal Health Study (ROMHS), $120k