Codie Primeau, PhD, MPT, MSc

Codie Primeau headshot Assistant Professor

Contact Information


Education

  • Postdoctoral Fellowship (University of British Columbia & Arthritis Research Canada)
  • PhD – Health and Rehabilitation Sciences – Physical Therapy (红莲社区)
  • MPT (红莲社区)
  • MSc – Kinesiology (红莲社区)
  • BSc – Human Kinetics – en français (University of Ottawa)

Graduate Program Supervision

  • Health and Rehabilitation Sciences |

Research In Profile

Professor Primeau (he/him; il) is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy. He is also an Affiliate Scientist with Arthritis Research Canada, a Research Affiliate with the Community-Based Research Centre, and an inaugural committee member of the Queer Physiotherapy Collective (Canada). His research focuses on improving mobility, health outcomes, and care experiences for individuals with chronic health conditions, with a strong emphasis on equity and inclusion. Using a mixed-methods approach, his work integrates both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to explore arthritis, orthopedics, pelvic health, clinical biomechanics, health economics, and 2S/LGBTQQIA+ health. Central to his research is meaningful collaboration with patient and community partners, ensuring that studies are designed with and for the communities they aim to serve. His projects evaluate the clinical and cost-effectiveness of physiotherapy and surgical interventions for chronic conditions such as arthritis, chronic pain, and pelvic health disorders while also addressing healthcare access barriers, particularly in affirming care for 2S/LGBTQQIA+ individuals.

At the core of his work is a commitment to partnering with communities to co-develop research that directly addresses the burden of musculoskeletal conditions. By prioritizing community-driven solutions, his research aims to create more inclusive, effective, and sustainable approaches to rehabilitation that better meet the needs of those most impacted.

Featured Publications and Projects

Articles in Peer-Reviewed Journals

  • Primeau, C. A., Bayraktar, D., Kho, M. E., Tong, C., & Li, L. C. (2024). Facilitators and Barriers to Integrating Sleep Recommendations for Counselling Patients with Arthritis: A Survey of Physiotherapists and Students in Canada. Physiotherapy Canada, (aop), e20240069.
  • Birmingham, T. B., Primeau, C. A., Shariff, S. Z., Reid, J. N., Marsh, J. D., Lam, M., ... & Fowler, P. J. (2024). Incidence of Total Knee Arthroplasty After Arthroscopic Surgery for Knee Osteoarthritis: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Network Open, 7(4), e246578-e246578.
  • Primeau, C. A., Philpott, H. T., Vader, K., Unger, J., Le, C. Y., Birmingham, T. B., & MacDermid, J. C. (2023). Knowledge, behaviours, and training related to 2SLGBTQIA+ health education amongst entry-level physiotherapy students in Canada: results of a nationwide, cross-sectional survey. BMC Medical Education, 23(1), 519.
  • Primeau, C. A., Birmingham, T. B., Appleton, C. T., Leitch, K. M., Fowler, P. J., Marsh, J. D., & Giffin, J. R. (2023). Responders to medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy for knee osteoarthritis. The Journal of Rheumatology, 50(6), 809-816.
  • Primeau, C. A., Birmingham, T. B., Leitch, K. M., Willits, K. R., Litchfield, R. B., Fowler, P. J., ... & Giffin, J. R. (2021). Total knee replacement after high tibial osteotomy: time-to-event analysis and predictors. Cmaj, 193(5), E158-E166.
  • Primeau, C. A., Zomar, B. O., Somerville, L. E., Joshi, I., Giffin, J. R., & Marsh, J. D. (2021). Health economic evaluations of hip and knee interventions in orthopaedic sports medicine: A systematic review and quality assessment. Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, 9(3), 2325967120987241.
  • Primeau, C. A., Birmingham, T. B., Moyer, R. F., O'Neil, K. A., Werstine, M. S., Alcock, G. K., & Giffin, J. R. (2020). Trajectories of perceived exertion and pain over a 12-week neuromuscular exercise program in patients with knee osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage, 28(11), 1427-1431.

Visit for a comprehensive list of publications.

Current Grants and Research Projects

  • (Principal Investigator) Primeau, C., Hoens, A., Li, L., Verma, A. R., Kwag, M., Samson, A., Schultz, G., Salway, T., Abreu, E., Stevenot, J. (2025). Co-Developing Research Questions About Chronic Pain with 2SLGBTQQIA+ Communities through Citizen Science. CIHR Planning Grant. $20,000.
  • (Principal Investigator) Primeau, C., Hoens, A., Li, L., Verma, A. R., Kwag, M., Samson, A., Schultz, G., Salway, T., Abreu, E., Stevenot, J. (2025). Citizen Science: An approach to engage the 2SLGBTQIA+ public with arthritis and co-develop research questions for pain. AHPA Research Operating Grant. $10,000.
  • (Co-Investigator) Li, L., Lacaille, D., Ma, J., Primeau, C., Avina-Zubieta, A., Hoen, A., Jones, A., Gromala, D., Shaw, C., Leese, J., Wang, E., Worthington, H., Xie, H., Davidson, E., English, K., Wilhelm, L., Proulx, L., Woof, A. (2025). Facilitating Adoption of Strength Training in people with Rheumatoid Arthritis (FAST-RA). CIHR Planning Grant. $20,000.
  • (Co-Principal Investigator) Linda, L., Primeau, C., Graves, L., Goulding, S., Hoens, A., Law, S., Miciak, M., O’Brien, K., Sanchez-Ramizez, D. (2024-2025). Development of a Framework to Inform Equitable and Inclusive Models of Care for People with Long COVID. $50,000.
  • (Co-Investigator) Birmingham, T., Appleton, T., Bryant, D., Giffing, J. R., Hunt, M., Moyer, R., Primeau, C., Charlton, J., Hart, H., Holdsworth, D., MacDermid, J., Marsh, J. (2022-2025). A randomized pilot trial of unloader bracing for knee osteoarthritis. $447,526.
  • (Co-Investigator) Lachowsky, N., Gahagan, J., Gupta, N., Jollimore, J., Primeau, C., Abramovich, A., Burchell, A., Card, K., Fulcher, K., Gilbert, M., Hogg, R., Kia, H., Klassen, B. Salway, T. (2022-2025). Acceptability, Feasibility, and Bias Assessment in Administrative Health Data Linkage among 2SLGBTQQIA+ Communities. $654,840.

Graduate Student Opportunities

Codie Primeau is currently accepting graduate students for supervision, working in the following areas:

  • Improving experiences for patient and public engagement in research
  • Evaluating access to affirming healthcare and health outcomes for 2S/LGBTQQIA+ communities
  • Evaluating clinical and/or cost-effectiveness of musculoskeletal interventions (i.e., in arthritis, chronic pain, pelvic health, sport injuries, etc.)
  • Evaluating clinical and/or cost-effectiveness of gender-affirming interventions
  • Implementation of rehabilitation interventions
  • 2S/LGBTQQIA+ health education and inclusion in rehabilitation professions

Please email Codie Primeau directly at codie.primeau@uwo.ca for more information.

Additional Information

Academic Appointments and Research Affiliations

  • Wolf Orthopaedic Biomechanics Laboratory

Media Highlights

  • Podcast, New Directions Podcast: – Physiotherapy Association of British Columbia (Podcast, Jan 30th, 2024)
  • Interview, – Arthritis Consumer Experts (Video, Oct 30th, 2023)
  • Webinar, Citizen Science: (Webinar, Oct 6th, 2023)
  • Interview, – Talk Over RA (Video, Sep 29th, 2023)
  • Interview, – Reuters Health (by Lisa Rapaport) (Interview, Feb 4th, 2021)
  • Interview, – CTV News London (by Brent Lale) (Interview, Feb 3rd, 2021)

Awards

  • CIHR Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2024-2026 (completed early)
  • Arthritis Society Canada Postdoctoral Research Trainee Award, 2023-2026 (completed early)
  • Michael Smith Health Research BC Postdoctoral Research Trainee Award, 2023-2025
  • Canadian Physiotherapy Association Award, 2022
  • OARSI – Osteoarthritis Research Society International Young Investigator Award, 2021

Professional Activities

  • Committee Member, Queer Physiotherapy Collective
  • Research Affiliate, Community-Based Research Centre
  • Panel Member, Campbell and Cochrane Health Equity Thematic Group
  • Member, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Committee – Chronic Pain Network