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Dr Evelyn Parr

Senior Lecturer
Centre for Human Performance & Metabolism

Areas of expertise: exercise; diet; nutrition; obesity; type 2 diabetes; glycemic control; body composition

HDR Supervisor accreditation status: Full

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1710-6381

Phone: (03) 9230 8278

Email: Evelyn.Parr@acu.edu.au 

Dr Evelyn Parr is a senior lecturer with research interests in reducing obesity through changes in body composition and the management of blood glucose in response to exercise and nutritional interventions. Evelyn’s current research portfolio in the Centre for Human Performance & Metabolism involves work regarding the use of continuous glucose monitors and dietetic support for individuals with type 2 diabetes, as well as manipulating the timing and composition of nutritional intake and exercise on the development of type 2 diabetes in conjunction with overweight/obesity. Evelyn completed her undergraduate Physical Education and Science degrees at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand. She then completed a research masters in Exercise Metabolism investigating the effects of exercising in the cold on metabolism in female cyclists. A move to Australia to work with Prof Hawley, originally at RMIT and then at ACU, enabled Evelyn to run a large-scale weight loss exercise and diet intervention, aimed at preventing the loss of skeletal muscle mass in older adults, as a part of her PhD studies. Evelyn was awarded her PhD in May of 2016, titled “Exercise and nutrient interactions: Effects on skeletal muscle and body fat mass”. As a keen cyclist, Evelyn’s research interests centre around optimizing and enabling the best prescription of exercise to individuals with a previous history of not exercising. Evelyn’s major projects, in collaboration with Prof Hawley, Dr Brooke Devlin (University of Queensland) and Prof Leah Brennan (La Trobe) are investigating the effects of time restricted eating in the management of glycaemic control for individuals with type 2 diabetes. In a larger, multi-centre trial with the University of Adelaide (Prof Leonie Heilbronn, Dr Amy Hutchison), the team have recently investigated the effects of time restricted eating to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Select publications

• Bravo-Garcia AP, Reddy AJ, Radford BE, Hawley JA, Parr EB. Modifying the timing of breakfast improves postprandial glycaemia in people with type 2 diabetes: A randomised controlled trial. Diabetes Metab Syndr. 2024 Nov-Dec;18(11-12):103157.
• Kouw IWK, Parr EB, Wheeler MJ, Radford BE, Hall RC, Senden JM, Goessens JPB, van Loon LJC, Hawley JA. Short-term intermittent fasting and energy restriction do not impair rates of muscle protein synthesis: A randomised, controlled dietary intervention. Clin Nutr. 2024 Nov;43(11):174-184.
• Parr EB, Radford BE, Hall RC, Steventon-Lorenzen N, Flint SA, Siviour Z, Plessas C, Halson SL, Brennan L, Kouw IWK, Johnston RD, Devlin BL, Hawley JA. Comparing the effects of time-restricted eating on glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes with standard dietetic practice: A randomised controlled trial. Diabetes Res Clin Pract. 2024 Nov;217:111893.
• Charrouf R, Parr EB, Hutchison AT, Flint SA, Teong XT, Wittert G, Vincent AD, Brennan L, Devlin BL, Hawley JA, Heilbronn LK. Effect of time restricted eating versus current practice in dietetics on glycaemic control and cardio-metabolic outcomes in individuals at risk of developing type 2 diabetes: Protocol for a multi-centre, parallel group, non-inferiority, randomised controlled trial. Contemp Clin Trials. 2024 Nov;146:107696.
• Janssens K, Foulkes SJ, Mitchell AM, Dausin C, Van Soest S, Spencer L, Rowe SJ, D'Ambrosio P, Elliott AD, Van Puyvelde T, Parr EB, Willems R, Heidbuchel H, Claessen G, La Gerche A. Blood pressure response to graded bicycle exercise in males and females across the age and fitness spectrum. Eur J Prev Cardiol. 2025 Jan 6;32(1):43-51.
• Torrens SL, Parr EB, McNulty C, Ross L, MacLaughlin H, Robergs RA. Carbohydrate Ingestion before Exercise for Individuals with McArdle Disease: Survey Evidence of Implementation and Perception in Real-World Settings. Nutrients. 2024 May 9;16(10):1423.
• Bland KA, France-Ratcliffe M, Krishnasamy M, Nandi A, Parr EB, Martin P, Cormie P, van Loon LJC, Zopf EM. "It gave me a sense of achievement and a sense of purpose"-a qualitative study of patient experiences of a virtually supervised exercise program for adults with advanced cancer and cachexia. Support Care Cancer. 2024 May 3;32(5):325.
• Pye C, Parr EB, Flint SA, Devlin BL. Exploring Australian Dietitians' knowledge, experience and perspectives of time-restricted eating in private practice: A qualitative study. Clin Obes. 2024 Oct;14(5):e12671.
• Parr, E.B., Steventon-Lorezen, N., Johnston, R., Maniar, N., Devlin, B.L., Lim, K.H.C., Hawley, J.A. (2023) Time-restricted eating improves measures of daily glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes, Diabetes Research and Clinical Practice, 197, 110569. DOI: 10.1016/j.diabres.2023.110569
• Parr, E.B., Kouw, I.W.K., Wheeler, M.J., Radford, B.E., Hall, R.C., Senden, J.M, Goessens, J.P.B., van Loon, L.J.C., Hawley, J.A. (2023) Eight-hour time-restricted eating does not lower muscle protein synthesis rates: A randomised control trial, Obesity, 31(S1), 116-126. DOI: 10.1002/oby.23637.
• Parr, E.B., Devlin, B.D., Hawley, J.A. (2022) Perspective: Time-Restricted Eating—Integrating the What with the When, Advances in Nutrition, 13(3), 699-711. DOI: 10.1093/advances/nmac015.
• Parr, E.B., Devlin, B.L, Lim, K.H.C., Moresi, L.N.Z., Geils, C., Brennan, L., Hawley, J.A. (2020) Time-restricted eating as a nutrition strategy for individuals with type 2 diabetes: A feasibility study. Nutrients, 12(11), 2338. DOI: 10.3390/nu12113228.
• Parr, E. B., Devlin, B. L., Radford, B. E., & Hawley, J. A. (2020). A delayed morning and earlier evening time-restricted feeding protocol for improving glycemic control and dietary adherence in men with overweight/obesity: a randomized controlled trial. Nutrients, 12(2), 505. DOI: 10.3390/nu12020505.
• Parr, E.B., Heilbronn, L.K., Hawley, J.A. (2020) A time to eat and a time to exercise. Exercise and Sports Sciences Reviews, 48(1), 4-10. DOI: 10.1249/JES.0000000000000207.

Funding

• 2025-2026, Abbott Diabetes Care: Parr, E.B., Devlin, B.D., Ng, A., Francois, M.E., Flint, S.A, Holmes-Truscott, E., McCaffrey, T., Johnston, R.D., Brennan, L., Hawley, J.A., Integration of dietetic support with self-management using continuous glucose monitoring for people with type 2 diabetes. USD$118,000
• 2020-2024, NHMRC Medical Research Future Fund, Preventive and Public Health: Heilbronn, L., Hawley, J.A., Hutchison, A., Devlin, B.D., Parr, E.B., Time-Restricted EATing to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (TREAT). $1,067,000
• 2019-2020, Diabetes Australia Research Program Grant: Parr, E.B., Hawley, J.A., Devlin, B.L., Kouw, I.K., Brennan, L. Improving glycaemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes through time-restricted eating: a 6-month RCT. $60,000
• 2019, Alliance of Potato Research and Education Grant: Camera, D.M., Parr, E.B., Devlin, B.D., Burniston, J., Hawley, J.A., A short-term potato enriched diet to support muscle accretion and promote substrate metabolism adaptations in recreationally active individuals. $200,000
• 2018-2019, European Society for Clinical Nutrition (ESPEN) Early Career Fellowship: Parr, E.B., A time for food: The effects of time-restricted feeding on glycaemic control and gut microbiome in individuals with type 2 diabetes. $79,000

 Accolades and awards

• Exercise and Sports Science Reviews, Best paper of 2020, awarded in 2021
• European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) Conference, International Travel Award, 2019
• Australian Postgraduate Award Scholarship at Australian Catholic University, 2014-2015
• Best student presentation at SESNZ conference, Christchurch, New Zealand, 2014

 Appointments and affiliations 

• Senior Lecturer (January 2024 – current), Centre for Human Performance & Metabolism, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
• Post-Doctoral Research Fellow (November 2016 – December 2023), Exercise and Nutrition Research Program, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
• Research Officer (November 2015 – October 2016), Centre for Exercise and Nutrition, Mary MacKillop Institute for Health Research, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne
• Exercise and Sports Science Australia (ESSA) Accredited Exercise Scientist and member
• Member of Australasian Diabetes Society (ADS)