Prof. Scott Powers

UAA Endowed Professor & distinguished Professor of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology

Prof. Stuart Phillips

Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Adjunct Professor, Medicine (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) - McMaster University Canada

Stuart Phillips graduated with a Ph.D. from the University of Waterloo in Human Physiology. For two and half years he was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Robert Wolfe’s laboratory at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. Returning to McMaster University he accepted a position in the Department of Kinesiology where he is now a full Professor. He has received both Graduate Student and New Investigator Awards from the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology and is a fellow of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the American College of Nutrition (ACN). His research is focused on the impact of nutrition and exercise on human skeletal muscle protein turnover. As well he is keenly interested in diet and exercise-induced changes in body composition. Finally, a large part of his research is aimed at application of novel nutrition and exercise paradigms in modulating body composition to achieve optimal health in a variety of states including aging. His research is funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada, and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation. Dr. Phillips is a New Investigator award recipient from the Canadian Institutes for Health Research and also a recipient of the Ontario Premier’s Research Excellence Award. An enthusiastic and energetic group of graduate students are the true heart of Dr. Phillips’ more than 140 publications and continuing enthusiasm for science and research.

Prof. Paul Hodges

Professor and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow in the Division of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland, University of Queensland

Professor Paul Hodges, DSc MedDr PhD BPhty(Hons) FACP
Paul is Professor and NHMRC Principal Research Fellow in the Division of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland and Director of the NHMRC Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health. Paul has doctorates in both physiotherapy and neuroscience and his work blends neurophysiological, biomechanical and clinical research methods to understand the mechanisms that underlie changes in the movement system in pain and other disorders, to understand how these issues relate to long term outcome, to devise and test interventions, and to understand the underlying mechanisms for treatment efficacy. His work in low back pain has lead to changes in exercise and rehabilitation. Paul has received several major international awards for his research including the 2006 ISSLS Prize from the International Society for the Study of the Lumbar Spine (the premier international prize for back pain research) and the 2009 Klein-Vogelbach Award for Neuroscience research in human movement and rehabilitation. He has published more that 200 peer reviewed papers and book chapters and has received more that $AU20 million in research grants from the NHMRC, ARC and International research funds.

 Prof. Bruce Abernethy

Director, Institute of Human Performance, University of Hong Kong

 Dr Robert Aughey

Lecturer, Victoria University

 Mr Sebastian Buccheri

Head of Exercise Physiology, Victorian Rehabilitation Centre 

B.App Sci Human Movement, Grad Dip Ex Rehab

Sebastian has been a practising Accredited Exercise Physiologist for 11 years, of which the last 4 years have been as the Head of Exercise Physiology at The Victorian Rehabilitation Centre, Melbourne.  Sebastian’s work has been within the field of Pain Management, Multi trauma orthopaedic and work related Injury rehabilitation, including the sprains and strains care model for the Victorian Workcover Authority. 

Sebastian has also been able to establish a small Exercise Physiology practice on a part time basis, working in conjunction with a local GP practice.

Sebastian is the current Chair of the ESSA Victorian Chapter, a position he has held for the past 2½ years

 Professor Louise Burke

Head of Department, Australian Institute of Sport.

Louise Burke OAM, PhD, APD, FACSM

Louise is a sports dietitian with nearly 30 years experience in the education and counselling of elite athletes.  She has been head of the Department of Sports Nutrition at the Australian Institute of Sport since 1990.  Her role as the dietitian for the Australian Swimming Team from 1991-2007 provided extensive overseas experience with the organisation of team travel and dietary concerns of the travelling athlete.  She was the team dietitian for the Australian Olympic Teams for the 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008 Olympic Games. Louise’s publications include over 70 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, more than 40 book chapters, and the authorship or editorship of several textbooks on sports nutrition.  She is an editor of the International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism. Her research interests include sports supplements and ergogenic aids, carbohydrate intake before, during and after exercise, dietary periodisation strategies for athletes, protein and the response to training, and hydration practices for training and competition.  Louise was a founding member of the Executive of Sports Dietitians Australia and is a Director of the IOC Diploma in Sports Nutrition. She is a member of the Working Group on Nutrition for the International Olympic Committee, and the Medical and Anti-Doping Committee of the IAAF. She holds an Honorary Chair in Sports Nutrition, at Deakin University in Melbourne for contribution to research and post-graduate and undergraduate units in Sports Nutrition.  She was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2009 for her contribution to sports nutrition.

 Mr Jason Cameron

Health Services Officer, Q-Comp.

 Jason is presently the Health Services Officer at Q-COMP the workers' compensation regulatory authority and has been in the position for the last 2 years. Jason's has previously worked as an accountant and as a speech pathologist in private practice working in a number of multi-disciplinary rehabilitation units in Brisbane. His role is to educate allied health and medical professionals about the workers' compensation scheme as well as producing the Table of Costs which detail the fees that are applicable to the workers compensation scheme for allied health and medical providers. 

 Dr Andrew Claus

Clinical Research Manager, Centre for Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain Injury & Health, School of Health & Rehabilitation Services, University of Queensland.

Andrew Claus completed PhD studies on spinal posture with the Centre of Clinical Research Excellence in Spinal Pain, Injury and Health, based at The University of Queensland. Studies in his thesis titled The Physiology of Sitting showed that pressure in spinal discs was no worse in sitting than in standing, quantified sitting posture behaviour for a computer task, and used fine-wire electrodes injected into muscles of the back and abdomen to show how posture influences specific muscle activity in people who have never suffered back pain and in people with recurrent pain. The project helped to define ‘neutral spine’ postures and provided evidence for postures that may be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ in sitting. He continues to practice as a musculoskeletal physiotherapist, as well as ongoing research projects that examine posture and movement in violinists, ballet dancers and pushing tasks for health-care workers.

 Associate Professor Jeff Coombes

Associate Professor, University of Queensland.

Jeff Coombes is an Associate Professor in the School of Human Movement Studies at the University of Queensland. Jeff completed undergraduate degrees and a research masters at the University of Tasmania before gaining a PhD from the University of Florida with a minor in nutrition. He has established the Exercise and Oxidative Stress Research Group comprising clinicians, postdoctoral fellows and research students and he is co-director of the NHMRC Clinical Centre for Research Excellence based at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane. He has published two book chapters, over 100 Medline articles and graduated twelve research higher degree students. His research areas include the roles of exercise, oxidative stress and antioxidants in health and disease.

 Associate Professor David Dunstan

Public Health Research Fellow, Head of Physical Activity Laboratory, Baker IDI Heart & Diabetes Institute.

A/Professor Dunstan is a VicHealth Public Health Research Fellow and is the Head of the Physical Activity laboratory in the Division of Metabolism and Obesity at the Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute. His research focuses on the role of physical activity and sedentary behavior in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes and obesity. His research program has attracted considerable external funding from the NHMRC, VicHealth and the National Heart Foundation and he has been an invited speaker at international conferences, including the American Diabetes Association. A/Prof Dunstan leads a collaboration consisting of key researchers in the field of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and health to analyse the lifestyle data collected from the AusDiab study. He is also the creator of the purposefully developed physical activity program titled ‘Lift for Life^®’, which has been designed to facilitate widespread uptake of strength training in community facilities such as gyms and community health centres. In 2007, he was awarded a prestigious young Tall Poppy Science award (Victoria) from the Australian Institute of Policy and Science which recognizes the achievements of Australia’s outstanding young scientific researchers.

 Dr Damian Farrow

Head of discipline, Psychology and Skill Aquisition, Australian Institute of Sport

Dr. Damian Farrow was recently appointed as a Professor of Sports Science in the School of Sport and Exercise Science at Victoria University. The position is a joint appointment with the Australian Institute of Sport where Damian has been a Skill Acquisition Specialist since 2002. He is responsible for the provision of evidence-based sports science support to Australian coaches seeking to measure and improve the design of the skill learning environment. He has worked with a wide range of sub-elite and elite level AIS programs and National Sporting Organisations including the AFL, Cricket Australia, Tennis Australia, Netball Australia and Australian Rugby Union. His research interests centre on understanding the factors critical to sport expertise and talent development. He is also co-author of three general interest sports science books “Run Like You Stole Something”, “Why Dick Fosbury Flopped” and “It’s True: Sport Stinks”.

 Professor Daniel Green

Professor, School of Sports Science, Exercise & Health, University of Western Australia.

Danny Green's research revolves around the reasons why exercise, exercise training and physical activity prevent heart disease and the best combinations of exercise, pharmacological and other preventative measures to minimise the risk of future development of atherosclerosis in young people at risk and re-occurrence of cardiovascular disease in older individuals.  His research encompasses the lifespan; from exercise training in the prevention of the development of atherosclerosis in obese children and adolescents, to research on the best combination of exercise and medications in the management of patients with hypercholesterolemia, diabetes, coronary disease and end-stage heart failure patients awaiting cardiac transplantation.

 Mr Jeff Greenhill

Business Coordinator, Centre of Excellence, QAS

Jeff Greenhill is the Business Coordinator for the Centre of Excellence for Applied Sport Science Research (CoE) at the Queensland Academy of Sport (QAS). He graduated from Griffith University in 2007 with a Bachelor of Sport Management and first class honours and was awarded the 2007 Sport Management Association for Australia and New Zealand Student Research Award.  His degree included majors in sport management and marketing and his primary research interests are focussed on organisational and systemic processes in sport. Jeff’s role at the QAS is to provide business management for the CoE particularly promotional planning and delivery of outcomes, and establishing and supporting strong relationships with CoE stakeholders. Jeff also monitors the CoE’s research projects and is assisting with an Australian Research Council supported study being conducted by Griffith University and QAS on coach retention and career pathways.

 Associate Professor Luke Haseler

Associate Professor, Griffith University

 Professor John Hawley

Professor, Exercise Physiology, RMIT

 Professor Andrew Hills

Professor, Queensland University of Technology

Andrew Hills is a Professor based at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane. Professor Hills is a leading physical activity and obesity researcher with considerable clinical experience. He has provided significant leadership in professional and scientific education and

training in the prevention and management of obesity in Australia. He is a Co-Director of the ATN Centre for Metabolic Fitness, a national Centre devoted to a better understanding of the lifestyle implications of overweight and obesity, and also Co-Director of the Australasian Child and Adolescent Obesity Research Network (ACAORN). Collectively, his research and scholarly outputs include 8 books, and in excess of 100 refereed papers, book chapters and invited conference presentations. Professor Hills has served on an Expert Working Group on Childhood Obesity for the World Health Organisation (WHO) and is a consultant to the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). His work with the IAEA

has included editing a recent textbook on the assessment of body composition and energy expenditure using stable isotope techniques and leading two large international research projects on childhood obesity and body fat and metabolic risk in children and adolescents. Professor Hills was elected as the first non-medical President of the Australia and New Zealand Obesity Society (ANZOS) (2001-2003) having earlier

held the positions of Vice-President and Secretary. He is also a Fellow of Sports Medicine Australia. In 2006, he was Chair of the International Liaison Committee for the International Congress on Obesity (ICO2006, Sydney) and Chair of the Satellite Conference on ‘Physical Activity and Obesity.’ Professor Hills is also a Series Editor

of the prestigious Medicine and Sport Science Series, S. Karger AG, Basel, Switzerland, and an Editorial Board member and reviewer of a number of leading international scientific journals.

 Dr Graham Kerr

Associate Professor, Queensland University of Technology

Graham Kerr is the founder and director of the Movement Neuroscience Program at the Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation at Queensland University of Technology. He leads a team of postdoctoral fellows, honours and postgraduate students and support staff undertaking basic and clinical research in ageing, neurological disease and movement disorders. Current research programs examine movement coordination, tremor, postural instability and gait disability in older people, Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and orthostatic tremor patients. He is also involved with neurologists and neurosurgeons from St Andrew’s and Royal Brisbane and Women’s hospitals in examining the effects of deep brain stimulation in treating these conditions.

As an outreach for his research he has established an exercise and falls prevention clinic for Parkinson’s disease funded by the Department of Health and Ageing. He also undertakes clinical tremor and gait assessments for neurologists and other medical practitioners in Brisbane. Graham undertakes community outreach programs for Parkinson’s Queensland and its support groups. He was recently elected Vice President of Parkinson’s Queensland and is chair of its Medical Advisory Subcommittee.

 Professor Andrew Lloyd

 Professor, University of New South Wales

Professor Andrew Lloyd is an infectious diseases physician, immunology researcher and Director of the Centre for Infection and Inflammation Research at the University of NSW. He leads the Infection and Inflammation Group within the Centre studying determinants of the varied severity and course of acute infective illnesses, in the Dubbo Infection Outcomes Study (DIOS) which is an internationally-acclaimed prospective cohort study following individuals from the time of onset of documented infection with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), Ross River virus (RRV) or Q fever infection. He has led the development of a multi-disciplinary treatment and research program for patients with chronic fatigue states based in the Lifestyle Clinic at the University of NSW. His other research focus is hepatitis C infection. In this regard he leads the University of NSW Hepatitis C Vaccine Initiative which includes the HITS cohort a prospective study of hepatitis C infection amongst prison inmates. The hepatitis C research team has recently been awarded an NHMRC Program Grant (HIV and HCV Vaccines and Immunopathogenesis; 2009-2013 $17.8M). Professor Lloyd was awarded an Australia Medal (AM) for his work in establishing the hepatitis service in the NSW prisons and for his research achievements in infectious diseases.

 Professor Frank Marino

 Professor, Charles Sturt University

Frank Marino is currently the Chair of Exercise Physiology and the Foundation Head of the School of Human Movement Studies at Charles Sturt University, Australia. He received his undergraduate degree in Physical Education from the University of Western Australia and Masters from the University of Sydney before completing his PhD in the physiology of thermoregulation at Charles Sturt University. His main interests are in human performance in extreme conditions, particularly in cold and hot conditions. His original work in this area looked at the effects of pre-cooling for performance where it was shown that reducing the starting core temperature enhanced endurance performance in the heat. Subsequently Professor Marino undertook studies in the area of fatigue and hyperthermia, where along with his doctoral students they were able to show how muscle was recruited during exercise in the heat. Today his main focus is understanding how humans are able to use anticipatory regulation in exercise performance. He has published over 60 papers in international peer-reviewed journals. These papers have a cumulative average of 35 citations per year. Professor Marino was the editor of the book Thermoregulation and Human Performance: Physiological and Biological Aspects, Vol. 53, (2008), published by Karger in Basel.

 Dr David Martin

Senior Sports Physiologist, Australian Institute of Sport

David received his B.Sci. degree in Zoology from the College of Idaho, his M.Sci. degree in Exercise Physiology  from Northern Michigan University and his Ph.D. in Physiology  from the University of Wyoming.  For 1.5 years prior to beginning doctoral studies, David worked as a research assistant at the United States Olympic Training Centre in Colorado Springs Colorado.  Master’s research focused on stability of the “Anaerobic Threshold” training intensity and doctoral research was aimed at better understanding peaking, tapering and overtraining in cyclists.  David is currently a senior sports physiologist working within the Department of Physiology at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra and also acts as  the National Sport Science Coordinator for Cycling Australia.

 Professor Robert Newton

Director Vario Health Institute. Foundation Professor, Edith Cowan University

Professor Robert Newton is the Foundation Professor in Exercise and Sports Science, and Director of the Vario Health Institute at Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia.  Professor Newton’s research interests centre on applications of exercise for maintaining or improving human structure and function.  His publication record includes 1 book, 173 refereed scientific papers, 9 book chapters, 10 keynote presentations, 73 invited presentations, and 201 conference presentations.  Professor Newton is a frequent invited speaker both nationally and internationally particularly on the topic of chronic disease and the benefits of physical activity.  He has been a chief or co-investigator on successful competitive research grants totalling over $8.0 million.

 Professor Tim Olds

Professor, University of South Australia.

Tim Olds is a professor at the University of South Australia. After completing a PhD in French Studies at the University of Sydney, Tim went on to study exercise science, receiving a second PhD in 1997. His research interests have been in mathematical modelling of cycling performance, anthropometry, and more recently secular trends in the fitness, fatness, physical activity and food intake. He was Project Director for the Australian National Nutrition and Physical Activity Survey, and for the ADAPT Project, which used 3D anthropometry to match body types with military aircraft. Tim’s current work looks at how people use their time, especially when undertaking behavioural change programs.

 Professor Neville Owen

Professor of Health Behaviour, University of Queensland.

 Professor Robert Robergs

Professor, University of Western Sydney.

Professor Robergs is a recent hire at the University of Western Sydney (UWS) with specialization in basic and applied exercise physiology.  Professor Robergs completed his Masters Degree (1985-1987) in Cardiac Rehabilitation and Sports Science at Wake Forest University (USA) and his PhD in Human Bioenergetics (1987-1990) at Ball State University (USA).  Professor Robergs commenced his tenure track appointment at the University of New Mexico in 1990, and since then, has developed internationally recognized undergraduate and graduate programs in Exercise Science.  Professor Robergs has successfully supervised more than 57 PhD and 16 Masters students to completion.  Through combinations of external and internal grants, and corporate consultancy, Professor Robergs infused in excess of US$500,000 into his laboratories in New Mexico.  He has authored 5 textbooks on exercise and clinical exercise physiology, published more than 110 peer review research articles and commentaries, provides peer review for numerous journals that have an exercise, biochemical or physiological focus, and is an associate editor for the American Journal of Physiology.  Professor Robergs has taught extensively within Exercise Science, as well as Occupational Therapy and Physiotherapy, and has been instrumental in the development of Research Methods and Statistics courses in the United States and now Australia.  Professor Robergs is currently developing undergraduate and post-graduate curriculum and research in Exercise and Sport Science at UWS, and is developing a research focus within Australia on exercise-induced metabolic acidosis, muscle phosphagen metabolism based on 31P MRS, and strategies to delay fatigue processes during intense exercise.

 Ms Megan Ross

PhD Candidate, Edith Cowan University. Department of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport.

Megan is current PhD candidate at Edith Cowan University (Joondalup, WA) conducting research and based at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS, Canberra, ACT). In the lead up to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, Meg’s work included investigating popular and novel pre-cooling strategies and cycling time trial performance in the heat. In 2010, Meg will continue to develop the application of pre-cooling in the field to help cyclists prepare for future major championships including Olympic Games and World Championships. 

Meg has been based at the AIS in Canberra since 2005 and is embedded within the Department of Physiology conducting physiological research in collaboration with Professor Louise Burke (Department of Sports Nutrition). Recent investigation has allowed Meg to combine a number of her professional interests, conducting an investigation into the effect of dietary sources of amino acids on protein synthesis in response to resistance exercise. Other research interests have included the effect of vibration therapy following muscle damaging exercise, various aspects of immunity in elite athletes and also developing strategies for Jockeys to minimise the risk of horse racing in the heat.

Meg spent 1999-2005 working as a sport scientist at the Victorian institute of Sport coordinating and implementing elite sport science support for athletes across Rowing, Swimming, Cycling, Track & Field (Athletics) and Soccer programmes. Meg has been a physiologist with the Australian Youth Swimming Team since 2001. Meg is an accredited Anthropometrist, Phlebotomist and has experience lecturing exercise physiology at the University of Canberra.  

 Dr Cecilia Shing

Lecturer, University of Tasmania.

 Mr Nicholas West

PhD Candidate. Department of Physiology, Australian Institute of Sport.

Nicholas West is undertaking a Doctoral program by research at Griffith University, Queensland, Australia (GU). He is conducting his research at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, Australia (AIS) under the supervision of Professors Allan Cripps (GU) and David Pyne (AIS). His research program has focused on understanding the relationship between changes in immune function and susceptibility to illness in athletes. A key component of this research has been examining the use of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic supplements to modulate enteric bacteria and enhance immunity in clinical trials on well-trained cyclists and tri-athletes. He is a former rowing scholarship holder with the Australian Capital Territory’s Academy of Sport.