Area of Research

Name

Expertise & Experience

Publication*

Children, adolescents, physical activity, motor development, motor control, physical fitness, motor competence, disability, Developmental Coordination Disorder

Prof Beth Hands, BEd, BSocWk, GradDipEdStudies, MEd, PhD

A former of the Project Director of the WA Child and Adolescent Physical Activity and Nutrition Survey and an Honorary Research Fellow with the Telethon ICHR Prof Hands is currently the Director of the Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Research. Her research includes 8 books or book chapters and 26 refereed journal articles. She has presented at 42 international conferences and has been a CI or AI on 16 research grants. 

Hands, B., Larkin, D., Rose, E, Parker, H., & Smith, A. (in press) Can young children make active choices? Outcomes of a feasibility trail in 7-year-old children.  Early Child Development and Care, 2010.

Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Complex Data structures, Longitudinal Data analysis

Prof Max Bulsara, PhD (Dist), MSc, BSc (Hons)

The chair in Biostatistics,  in 2006 he (with three other colleagues) won WA Inventor of the Year in the Research Organisation Category for his work on developing HEPASCORE a non-invasive method of diagnosing liver fibrosis. He is on the editorial board of several international journals and statistical reviewer for many high impact journals. He has 133 peer reviewed papers and 14 book chapters and technical reports published.

Min Zhang, C. D’Arcy J. Holman, Sylvie D. Price, Frank M. Sanfilippo, David B. Preen & Max K. Bulsara “Comorbidity predicts repeat hospitalisation for adverse drug reactions in older adults: a retrospective cohort study of 28 548 patients” British Medical Journal (2009); 338:a2752 

Exercise physiology and training, energy cost and biomechanics of running, physiology and biomechanics

Assoc Prof Hugh Pinnington, BPE, Dip Teach (PE), MPE, PhD

He has also had a long-term involvement in swimming coaching at the elite level and more recently from 1997 – 2000 served the Western Australian Institute of Sport as consultant swimming coach and sports scientist in the Olympic Athlete swimming program. Hugh has numerous journal publications in the areas of swimming, water polo and the physiology and biomechanics of running on sand and firm surfaces.  His major research interests are in the areas of in swimming and water polo and in exercise and falls prevention.  

Colliver, J., Pinnington, H., Wood, D. and Ackland, T. (2008). Kinematic determinants of outcomes following 2/3 knee arthroplasty. Proceedings of the 3rd Australian Association for Exercise and Sports Science Conference

Muscle damage, movement disorders, models of care

Prof Peter Hamer, Dip Phys, BPE(Hons), MEd, PhD, FASMF

He has served on the National Board of Sports Medicine Australia and is currently the President of the WA Branch. A Fellow of The Australian Sports Medicine Federation in 1988 he was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in the year 2000 as part of the Australian Honours system in recognition of his contribution to Sports Medicine within Australia. He has an interest in this area for both normal skeletal muscle as well as skeletal muscle affected by disease and pathological processes.

Reid, S., Hamer, P, Alderson, J, & Lloyd DG. (2009) Neuromuscular adaptations to eccentric strength training in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy, Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 52: 358-363.

Physiotherapy,  Low back pain, chronic pain

Assoc Prof Ben Wand,  BAppSc, GradDipExSpSc, MAppSc, PhD

Ben’s major research interest is chronic low back pain, particularly how changes in the brain may contribute to the pain experience. He is currently involved in a number of projects investigating clinical correlates of cortical reorganisation within  the back pain population as well as exploring treatment approaches which explicitly target cortical function.

Wand BM, De Pietro F, George P, O'Connell NE ‘Tactile thresholds are preserved yet complex sensory function is impaired over the lumbar spine of chronic non-specific low back pain patients. A preliminary investigation’,. Physiotherapy, 2010