Current students

At MMIHR, our research students are an integral part of our scholarly community and intellectual vision.

We host both international and local research candidates under the direction of leading scholars. If you would like to join our team as a research candidate, please visit ‘Study with us’ for more information.

Behaviour, Environment and Health Research Program

Psychosocial moderators and mediators of the associations between the built environment and physical activity among adolescents

Ms Kaushalya Viraginee Herath Herath Mudiyanselage | Supervisors: Professor Ester Cerin & Professor James F. Sallis

Recent Graduates

Interrupting prolonged sedentary sitting with intermittent standing and short bouts of walking (completed in August 2023)

Mr Francis Dzakpasu | Supervisors: Professor David Dunstan & Professor Ester Cerin

Modelling the spread of atrophy in Huntington's disease using network diffusion model (NDM) (completed in February 2022)

Mr Madan Kc | Supervisors: Dr Govinda Poudel & Professor Ester Cerin

Understanding the impact of prolonged sitting and intermittent physical activity on vascular functions across states of dysmetabolism adults (completed in August 2022)

Ms Frances Taylor | Supervisors: Professor David Dunstan & Professor Ester Cerin

Centre for Human Performance & Metabolism

Current Students

Co-designing an educational tool to help athletes make better choices for their health, performance and planetary health

Sara Forbes – Part time

Principal Supervisor: Dr Adrienne Forsyth (ACU) & Co-Supervisor: Professor Louise Burke

Co-Development of a Culinary Nutrition Framework for Elite Athletes

Olivia Thomas

Principal Supervisor: Professor Sharon Croxford (ACU), Co-supervisor: Dr Adrienne Forsyth (ACU) & Co-Supervisor: Professor Louise Burke

Nutritional interventions to attenuate quadriceps muscle deficits following anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction

Miriam Smith | Supervisors: Dr Nolan Hoffman, Professor David Opar & Professor Louise Burke

The effects of exercise in patients with melanoma undergoing immune checkpoint inhibitor immunotherapy - the EXHIBIT Study

Ms Megan Doherty | Supervisors: Dr Eva Zopf, Dr Sophie Broome & Dr Evelyn Parr

Dietary interventions for the management of obesity and type 2 diabetes

Ms Wentao Tang | Supervisors: Dr Evelyn Parr, A/Prof Adrienne Forsyth, Professor John Hawley 

 Exercise blood pressure and health outcomes in athletic and non-athletic individuals

Ms Kristel Janssen | Supervisors: Professor John Hawley, Dr Evelyn Parr

Energy Availability and Its Impact on Training Quality: Investigating Sex Differences in Athletes

Ms Alicia Walker | Supervisors: Professor Louise Burke and Dr Alannah McKay

The Impact of Energy Availability on Metabolic Health.

Mr Kyle Dunlop | Supervisors: Professor John Hawley , Professor Louise Burke, Dr Jamie Whitfield.

Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry and Bone Health in High Performance Athletes.

Nicholas Berlin | Supervisors: Professor Louise Burke, Associate Professor Jonathon Weakley, Associate Professor Gary Slater, Dr Anoohya Gandham & Dr Marc Sim 

Recent Graduates

The effects of modifying the timing of eating and exercise on glycaemia in people with and at risk of type 2 diabetes

Ms Ana Paula Bravo Garcia | Supervisors: Dr Evelyn Parr, Professor John Hawley 

Determinants of Resting Metabolic Rate and Factors Contributing to Erroneous Measurements in the Female Athlete

Ms Megan Kuikman | Supervisors: Professor Louise Burke and Dr Alannah McKay

Developing resources for high-quality applied research investigating the effect of female sex hormones on performance

Ms Ella Smith | Supervisors: Professor Louise Burke and Dr Alannah McKay

The circadian influence on satellite cells in Type 2 Diabetes

Mr Ryan Kahn | Supervisors: Professor John Hawley & Professor Leonidas Karagounis

Evaluating cardiovascular disease and the impact of exercise among women with breast cancer

Ms Kelcey Bland | Supervisors: Dr Eva Zopf & Professor Luc van Loon 

Integrating exercise interventions within routine healthcare: a plan to inform policy and practice

Ms Louise Czosnek | Supervisors: Dr Eva Zopf

The Impact of Nutrition and Training Practices on Iron and Bone Status in Athletes

Ms Nikita Fensham | Supervisors: Professor Louise Burke & Professor John Hawley

The impact of AMPK glycogen binding on exercise metabolism and glycogen dynamics

Ms Natalie Janzen | Supervisors: Dr Nolan Hoffman & Professor John Hawley 

Bone Health in Elite Rowers

Ms Bronwen Lundy | Supervisor: Professor Louise Burke 

Subcellular proteomic networks underlying exercise-induced mitochondrial biogenesis in human skeletal muscle

Elizabeth Reisman (PhD thesis submitted in 2025) | ACU Supervisors: Dr Nolan Hoffman & Professor John Hawley

Role of calcium-calmodulin-dependent protein kinases CaMKK2 and CaMK4 in brain and behaviour

Dr Jacqueline Kaiser (PhD completed in 2024) | ACU Supervisors: Associate Professor Doug Whyte & Dr Nolan Hoffman

Metabolomic responses to acute exercise and AMPK-glycogen binding disruption in mice

Dr Mehdi Belhaj (PhD completed in 2023) | ACU Supervisors: Dr Nolan Hoffman, Professor John Hawley & Dr Jamie Whitfield