Research Projects and Students
The PAHL group undertakes research at various stages of the bench-to-bedside spectrum, with the mechanistic (‘bench’) work being used to provide foundational ideas and testing of ‘bedside’ programs and evaluations. In relation to our study of mechanisms, we study psychological factors that make us happy, healthy, and productive - things like our responses to stress, what it is that makes exercise enjoyable (vs tedious), the ways exercise and stress influence our wellbeing and diet, our ability to experience 'flow', how our habits develop and how they help or hinder us, how people view stress, why we make the food and drink choices we make, the best ways to communicate with and motivate each other, and the things that make us resilient in the face of challenges.
In this theme, we also work on identifying the health challenges that exist in the home, workplace, school, and community at large, and we begin to look for possible solutions. We put those solutions into practice, and test their effectiveness, in our health promotion (‘bedside’) theme. That is, in our health promotion theme, we undertake research with the aim to directly improve an aspect of people's lives. We play a role in implementing and evaluating programs and trials designed to help people lose weight, make healthier dietary choices, feel better about themselves, increase their own and others physical activity levels, reduce their risk of disease, be more resilient, receive better health treatment, deal better with stress at home and work, and lead a healthier lifestyle in general.
See our latest publication - Persuasion and Communication in Sport, Exercise, and Physical Activity, Edited by Ben Jackson, James Dimmock, Josh Compton
2021 PAHL Research Students
PAHL's research mission is supported by a tremendous group of research students. In 2021, 10 research-based Graduate Diploma students—Melissa Cocuzza, Naomi Coleman, Samuel Hurley, Ethan Phillips, Helen McPake, Jacqui Garrigan, Jane Glynn, Heather Lewis, Connor Mitchell, and Daniel Jakob — are undertaking work with the group. Additionally, we have fantastic team of Honours, Masters, and PhD students, some of whom are shown below.
Natalya Beer
PhD Candidate, UWA
Natalya’s research focuses on the relationships between exercise, appetite, and food choices, and is intrigued by the impact of exercise on weight loss and weight management.
Timothy Budden
PhD Candidate, UWA
Timothy’s research focuses on MAN v FAT Soccer, a novel competitive sport-based weight loss program designed exclusively for overweight and obese men.
Ivan Jeftic
PhD Candidate, UWA
Ivan’s research focuses on the Stride program, which the PAHL team has developed in conjunction with the Thriving program (UWA).
Shina Lee
PhD Candidate, UWA
Shina Lee's doctoral research explores the extent to which exercise moderates the relationship between stress and energy intake.
Jessica Muller
PhD Student, JCU
Jessica's research focuses on Indigenous health, with a particular emphasis on the provision of culturally safe and responsive healthcare services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Cameron Norsworthy
PhD Candidate, UWA
Cameron’s research involves a comprehensive scoping review to map flow-related scientific research across a range of disciplines, with a specific emphasis on examining conceptual consistencies and inconsistencies.
Elizabeth Saunders
PhD Candidate, UWA
Liz’s current research is focused on how motivation may impact children with a clinical level of childhood obesity, and the role this may play in both short- and long-term weight loss.
Taylor-Jane Sharouni
PhD Student, JCU
Taylor-Jane's research focuses on the 'Proud Warrior' program - a mentorship and life skills program offered by the Australian Defence Force for youth in North Queensland.
Luke Tomlin
Honours Student, UWA
Luke’s research focuses on ways to improve adherence and engagement in youth-focused online health intervention programs (OHPs). His work is centred on the users of BRAVE-online.
Ahmad Hafizuddin Bin Abdul Hamid
Honours student, UWA
Children with family members affected by mental illness are at increased risk of developing mental illness themselves. Hafiz is undertaking work with the Kookaburra Kids Foundation to determine how community programs might help to improve the mental …
Christopher Alcorn
Honours Student, JCU
Chris is using his honours program to explore the use of self-affirmations as a naturally-occurring coping strategy.
Aaron Simpson
PhD Candidate, UWA
Aaron’s research focuses on the influence of community sport participation on positive youth development.
Sandy Rea
PhD Student, JCU
Sandy's PhD is focused on high-profile individuals' identity reconstruction and growth following traumatic experiences.
Judith Warner
Honours Student, JCU
Judith's honours project is focused on diagnostic overshadowing - a misattribution process by which a person's physical or intellectual disability may overshadow others' accurate identification of a decline in their mental wellbeing.
Dina Saheb
Honours Student, JCU
Dina's honours project is focused on gratitude--a positive mindset characterised by appreciation and thankfulness for life's events. She is exploring how researchers and practitioners may improve the effects of gratitude interventions in the future.…
Emma Quirk
Honours Student, JCU
Emma is undertaking experimental work aimed at improving the effects of gratitude interventions. She is particularly interested in determining whether re-framing tasks, guided by inoculation theory principles, may improve such interventions.