Our Mission
Our mission is to provide scientifically referenced information about arthrofibrosis to promote better understanding and outcomes.
Become a member, share your story and join the arthrofibrosis movement. We can help each other by sharing information. By shining a light on arthrofibrosis and raising awareness about it in our community we will take a stand against the devastation it causes.
Key People
IAA Committee
Dr. Kayley Usher
Founder
The IAA was founded by Dr. Kayley Usher (PhD), Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Western Australia. Kayley has a research background in immunology and microbiology, and her journey with arthrofibrosis began after a total knee replacement. Her experience of the knowledge “black hole” lit a passion to inform and educate people about arthrofibrosis. Drawing on her scientific understanding of fibrosis, Kayley wrote a review paper called “Pathological mechanisms and therapeutic outlooks for arthrofibrosis”, published in Nature Bone Research in 2019. Since this time she has provided scientifically referenced information about the drivers of arthrofibrosis and treatment options.
Steven B. Singleton, M.D.
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Steven B. Singleton, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Section Chief of Sports Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center. He specializes in sports medicine, especially injuries of the shoulder, elbow, knee, and ankle; ACL injuries; cartilage restoration; and biologics for sports medicine.
Dr. Singleton earned his medical degree at UT Southwestern, where he also completed a residency in orthopaedic surgery. He gained advanced training in sports medicine through a fellowship at the Steadman Hawkins Clinic in Vail, Colorado, where he developed an interest in treating arthrofibrosis. Certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgery, he joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2022.
Dr. Singleton is a co-founder of the Texas Health Sports Medicine Research and Education Institute and the Steadman Hawkins Clinic of the Carolinas.
Dr. Manon Raap
Statistician
Dr. Manon Raap is a senior data scientist in industry. She took an interest in the field of genomic data science, especially in the relation between gene expression and arthrofibrosis.
She joined the IAA Committee as statistician in 2022 and has built this website.
Georgios Mavropalias (PhD)
Research Fellow
Georgios Mavropalias (PhD) is a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow within the Exercise Medicine Research Institute at Edith Cowan University. He completed his BSc, MSc, and PhD in the areas of exercise science.
His passions involve the use of ‘exercise medicine’ for chronic diseases, with a particular interest in identifying the underpinning mechanisms in the extracellular matrix responsible for beneficial exercise-induced adaptations.
Sebastiano Nutarelli
Physiotherapist
Sebastiano Nutarelli is an Italian-born physiotherapist with a focus on treating arthrofibrosis following his own lengthy journey with this disease, which led him to search for the best specialized care and moving to the United States for a period. In 2018 he co-founded the Sports Rehab PT clinic in Lugano, Switzerland, with his managing partner and physiotherapist Andrea Balboni. The clinic the expanded offering a 2nd location for patients in Bellinzona, Switzerland. Sebastiano works with patients on a daily basis in order to help them recover from injury and surgery and is a strong supporter of Evidence-Based practice in rehabilitation.
Sebastiano is a part-time clinical researcher at the Service of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Department of Surgery, of the EOC Lugano, Switzerland and an International PhD student on knee ACL rehabilitation at UCD Dublin, Ireland. Since 2015, he co-founded a company that acted in the field of professional evidence-based education (organizing CPD courses, workshops, etc.) for MDs, PTs and ATs mainly in Italy, Switzerland, and France. He’s now the Scientific Coordinator for the Sports Physiotherapy, Sportsmedicine, Exercise and Scientific Research area for a major company which organizes such training in Italy and Switzerland. The organized courses involve the highest level of researchers and physiotherapists from all over the world. Sebastiano also runs his own courses in Europe on Evidence-Based rehabilitation for sports knee injuries, arthrofibrosis, and knee OA.