· I lead the Physical Activity Research Group and the 10,000 Steps program at the Central Queensland University. In 2004, I completed my PhD in Physical Education at the Ghent University in Belgium. In 2005, I started working at the University of Queensland and I moved to the Central Queensland University in 2009.
· My research has a population-based approach to health behaviour change and is focused on the development and evaluation of innovative computer-tailored and web-, app- and tracker-based physical activity interventions.
· I am an author on 248 publications, including 215 peer-reviewed journal publications. My work has been cited nearly 6000 times according to Scopus (h-index = 39) and over 10,000 times according to Google Scholar (h-index = 52). A bibliometric analysis (Muller et al, JMIR, 2018), shows that I am the most published author and the 3rd most cited author worldwide in the area of physical activity, sedentary behaviour and diet related e- & mHealth research.
· I have been awarded over $10 million of competitive research money and have received 2 prestigious research fellowships from the National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHF) and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC). I have secured 3 NHMRC Project Grants and 2 ARC Discovery Projects.
· I lead the world renowned 10,000 Steps Australia program (www.10000steps.org.au), which has attracted over 488,000 members, 16,000 organisations and has over 100,000 app downloads.
· I am a Founding Executive Committee member and Chair of the Abstract Committee for the new Australasian Society for Physical Activity. I am the Founding and Past Chair of the e- & mHealth Special Interest Group in the International Society of Behavioural Nutrition and Physical Activity (ISBNPA) which now has over 550 members from more than 40 countries.
· I have received awards to recognise research excellence (e.g., Deans’ & VC Awards for Excellence in Research, Queensland Young Tall Poppy, ISBNPA Commendation for Research Excellence) and delivered 41 invited presentations (8 keynotes).
· My leadership skills have been demonstrated by successfully supervising my post-doctoral researchers to secure their own highly competitive externally funded fellowships (4 x NHMRC, 3 x NHF).
(Updated: 30/11/2020)
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS
2000- 2004 Doctor in Physical Education
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Movement and Health Science
Ghent University, Belgium
1997 - 1999 Master in Physical Education
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Movement and Health Science
Ghent University, Belgium
1995 - 1997 Bachelor in Physical Education
Faculty of Medicine, Department of Movement and Health Science
Ghent University, Belgium
I am currently accredited for supervision in the following:
At the level of Mentor Supervisor
Public Health and Health Services - Health Promotion
e- & mHealth, websites, smartphone apps, computer-tailoring
Public Health and Health Services - Preventive Medicine
Physical Activity, Sedentary behaviour, diet and health