Maria H Nilsson is an Associate Professor in Physiotherapy. She is a Senior Lecturer in Health Sciences-Rehabilitation in neurodegenerative diseases. This is a combined position and she works 30% at the Memory Clinic, Department of Neurology, Rehabilitation Medicine, Memory Disorders and Geriatrics, Skane University Hospital, Malmö.

Research

Nilsson’s research focuses on activity and participation in people ageing with neurodegenerative disorders, i.e. major (dementia) and minor neurocognitive disorders as well as Parkinson’s disease. More specifically, the research targets gait, balance (including falls and fear of falling), mobility, physical activities and cognitive motor interference (dual tasking). She is the PI for two longitudinal projects:

• Motor-ACT (VR, 2017-01541; 2021-00905): Motor aspects and activities in relation to cognitive decline and brain pathologies.
• HHPD: Home and health in people with Parkinson’s disease.

She is also heading the project Cog-Com (Cognitive screening in the community), which is the fruit of our thematic collaborative initiative: Early diagnostics and prognostics of Alzheimer’s disease: approaches in municipality, primary health care, specialized care and industry (EDAP), LU.    

Nilsson is one of the PIs of the strategic research area MultiPark (Multidisciplinary research focused on Parkinson’s disease, LU), which is funded by the Swedish government.

Leadership experiences, examples.

Nilsson is the coordinator of the thematic collaborative initiative EDAP, LU (2022-ongoing). She is a board member of the Department of Health Sciences, LU (2022-ongoing) and the Swedish Movement Disorders organization for health sciences (VfMD, 2009-ongoing). She is a steering group member of the Swedish Parkinson Academy (2015-ongoing) and the Huntington centre (2017-ongoing), Region Skåne/ LU.

She has headed the multidisciplinary clinical Unit MemoryHealth (Memory Clinic), Skane University Hospital (part time, 2017-2022). Nilsson has also been a steering group member of MultiPark (2015-2021).

She was nominated and accepted for the 2-year program named Academic Traineeship (2009-2011) at LU, which prepared its members for an academic leadership position. She has participated in several leadership courses within Region Skåne: e.g., Work-environment, “Wall-breaker”, “A developing leadership”. 

Clinical evidence-based guidelines

Nilsson MH has experiences of establishing evidence based (GRADE) clinical guidelines both on a European and national level, e.g. European Physiotherapy Guideline for Parkinson’s disease (2014; reading group); national physiotherapy guidelines for people with Parkinson's disease (2018; project leader) and guidelines for Parkinson’s disease by the National Board of Health and Welfare (2022; member of the project leadership group).

Teaching

Nilsson MH has experiences of being a course leader at several levels (BSc, MSc and PhD) as well as for contract education. Experiences of teaching include for example cathedral lectures, study groups, PBL tutor and practical training. She has been an examiner at different levels (i.e. BSc, MSc and PhD) as well as being an opponent (PhD). Nilsson MH is experienced in different examination forms such as written examinations, Objective Structured Clinical Examinations (OSCE) and Triple Jump Examinations. She has also been the study coordinator of CASE graduate school (Jan 2016-June 2017), LU.

Thesis
Nilsson defended her PhD thesis in November 2009, which achieved an award for best PhD thesis within the field of Parkinson’s disease (Elsa and Inge Anderssons award, 2010). Moreover, she received a “medal of honour” by the Swedish Parkinson Disease Association in September 2010.

Nilsson, Maria (2009). Balance performance in people with Parkinson’s disease. Effects of subthalamic Deep Brain Stimulation. Lund University, Faculty of Medicine Doctoral Dissertation Series 2009:102