My Journey to Completing My PhD

After more than 30 years working in ultrasound, I never imagined that one day I would be writing the words:

Dr Lisa Hackett PhD (UNSW).

Completing my PhD has been one of the biggest achievements of my professional career, but the journey to get here has been about so much more than the title.

It has been a journey of curiosity, persistence, learning and, at times, simply putting one foot in front of the other and continuing to move forward.

Why I chose to undertake a PhD

My career in musculoskeletal ultrasound began in 1993 in Sydney, working alongside hand surgeons. Over the years, my clinical work expanded into sports medicine, orthopaedics, rheumatology and other areas of ultrasound.

As my clinical experience grew, so did my interest in research.

I became increasingly interested in the questions that sat behind the images we see on ultrasound.

What is actually happening within the tissue?

Can we identify changes that aren't visible on conventional imaging?

And can ultrasound provide clinicians with more meaningful information about healing and recovery?

Those questions eventually led me to my PhD research at the University of New South Wales.

My research

My PhD, titled “Shear Wave Elastography, Ultrasound and the Healing Rotator Cuff Tendon,” focused on the use of ultrasound and shear-wave elastography to better understand the healing of the rotator cuff tendon following repair.

Shear-wave elastography is particularly interesting because it provides information about tissue stiffness.

Traditional ultrasound can show us the structure and appearance of a tendon, but elastography can give us another layer of information about what is happening mechanically within that tissue.

One of the findings from my research was that repaired supraspinatus tendons became approximately 25% stiffer over the 12 months following repair.

Perhaps more importantly, the research highlighted that a tendon can appear intact on conventional ultrasound while still being mechanically soft.

For me, this is where research becomes particularly exciting.

It isn't simply about producing another academic paper or adding another qualification to my name.

It is about asking whether we can use ultrasound to understand the body more deeply and ultimately provide clinicians with better information to support patient care.

The challenge of doing a PhD

Completing a PhD while continuing to work clinically, teach, travel and maintain a busy professional life has certainly been challenging.

There were periods when the finish line felt very far away.

There were moments of self-doubt, moments of frustration and plenty of long days spent reading, analysing data, writing and rewriting.

But there were also moments of discovery that reminded me why I started.

Research has a way of making you question what you think you already know.

And I think that is one of the most valuable things about it.

After more than three decades in ultrasound, I was still learning.

Still asking questions.

Still challenging myself.

Still discovering something new.

From clinician to researcher and educator

Looking back, I don't see my clinical career, research and teaching as separate parts of my professional life.

They are all connected.

My clinical experience has shaped the questions I wanted to investigate.

My research has changed the way I think about ultrasound.

And teaching allows me to share that knowledge with other clinicians.

That is something I am incredibly passionate about.

Whether I'm teaching musculoskeletal ultrasound or facial ultrasound, my goal has always been to make ultrasound clinically relevant.

Not simply teaching someone how to obtain an image, but helping them understand what they are seeing, why it matters and how it can influence clinical decision-making.

Becoming Dr Lisa Hackett

So, after all these years, I can finally say:

I'm Dr Lisa Hackett.

It feels a little surreal.

The title itself isn't what matters most to me. What matters is everything that sits behind it.

The years of clinical experience.

The research.

The patients.

The colleagues and mentors who have supported me.

The students I have had the privilege of teaching.

The countless hours spent learning, questioning and pushing myself further.

Completing this PhD has reminded me that it is never too late to keep learning and challenging yourself.

My career in ultrasound began more than three decades ago, and somehow, I feel like this is another beginning rather than an ending.

I am incredibly proud to have completed my PhD at UNSW, grateful to everyone who supported me throughout the journey, and excited about what comes next.

And perhaps most importantly, I'm still curious.

There is still so much to learn.

Dr Lisa Hackett PhD (UNSW), FASA, AMS, ASAR