I am an exercise scientist and behavioural researcher with a strong research and translation interest in the benefits of exercise, particularly resistance training, in offsetting treatment, and sacropenia-related effects in cancer survivors and older adults, respectively, and in improving athletic performance.

My sports science research has concentrated on activities such as rugby union, powerlifting, sprinting, golf and strongman and now Australian rules football and swimming. I am also becoming particularly interested in female athletes, particularly with respect to how strength conditioning and movement competency may reduce their elevated risk of lower limb injury.

Of particular relevance to older adults including cancer patients and survivors, I am interested in ways in which exercise and nutritional interventions may maintain or improve body composition, physical function, and quality of life and reduce cancer progression. Over the last 10 years, I have also become very interested in the barriers, facilitators and motives that older adults and cancer survivors have in performing healthy behaviours, including physical activity. Such research has involved quantitative and qualitative components.

I am a Fellow of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sport, and the Australian Association of Gerontology. I also currently serve on the Exercise and Sport Science Australia's Sports Science Advisory Group, Australian Strength and Conditioning Association's Conference Committee and the Australian and New Zealand Society of Sarcopenia and Frailty Research's Sarcopenia Diagnosis Task Force Committee.

I am most interested in working with HDR students in following three main areas:

* Sport science projects with a strength and conditioning or motor learning focus. Recent projects include alternative training approaches such as strongman, BMX gate starts; strength and conditioning and skill acquisition in Australian rules football; kettlebells and hamstring assessments with an instrumented Nordic hamstring device.

* Sarcopenia prevalence, risk factors, consequences and interventions. These studies have mainly been conducted in aged care, but also in community dwelling older adults apparently healthy or accessing home and community care. Gait speed and sarcopenia within these cohorts has been a major focus; along with the potential benefits of progressive resistance and balance training.

* Cancer and other chronic conditions with an interest in using exercise, and perhaps dietary interventions, to improve overall cancer survivorship including health, function and quality of life. Quantitative and qualitative approaches are used in both the sarcopenia and cancer lines of research.